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THE 

ABBEY  OF  s.  MARY 

NEWBOTTLE. 

b/^  M<*W£«>t$H£* 


A  Memorial  of  the 
Royal  Visit,  1907. 


THE  REV.  J.  C.  CARRICK,  B.D., 


MINISTER  OF  NEWBATTLE 


(Author  of  "The  Story  of  the  Burning  Bush,"  "  St. 
Cuthbert,"  "  Wycliffe  and  the  Lollards,"  "  The 
Ancient  Cathedrals  of  Scotland,"  "  The  Story  of 
John  Knox  and  his  Land,"  "Robert  Burns  and  his 
Land,"  "  Sir  Walter  Scott  and  his  Land," 
"Psalms  and  Paraphrases  in  the  Scottish  Church" 
(Lee  Lecture),  &c.,  &=<:.) 


THIRD  EDITION. 


SELKIRK:     GEORGE     LEWIS    &    CO. 
EDINBURGH  :  JOHN  MENZIES  &  Co. 
1908. 


; 


©eepeof  ®f  fecfton 
fo 

fl.  J.  C. 


Ott& 


in 


Commemoration  of  a  quartet 
of  a  Centura's  mtntefrg  of 

(ttct»6a«fc. 


Marlborough  House, 

Pall  Mall, 

6th  May,  1907. 

Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, 

I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  your 
letter  of  the  ist  inst.,  and  in  reply  I  am  directed  to 
state  that  the  Prince  of  Wales  will  have  very  great 
pleasure  in  accepting  your  book,  which  you  have  been 
kind  enough  to  say  you  will  give  His  Royal  Highness 
as  a  memorial  of  the  Royal  Visit. 

I  remain, 

Faithfully  yours, 

W.  CARRINGTON, 
Comptroller. 


PREFACE. 

THERE  have  been  many  royal  visits  to  Newbattle  and 
Dalkeith  in  the  course  of  the  centuries,  and  at  any 
rate  one   Scottish   queen   lies   buried    in    Newbattle 
Abbey.       Queen  Victoria,  King  Edward,  and  Queen 
Alexandra,  the  lamented  Duke  of  Clarence,  and  many 
other  royal  personages  have,  within  the  last  generation,  visited 
the  district,  and  this  volume  is  a  humble  endeavour  to  com- 
memorate the  visit  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  in 
the  year  of  grace,   1907.     It  is  respectfully  presented  to  the 
public  in  the  hope  that  it  may  supply  a  long-felt  want,  and  be 
indulgently  received.       The  writer  trusts  that  any  omissions 
or  errors  will  be  generously  overlooked  in  an  attempt  to  per- 
petuate the  rich  historical  memories  of  the  Esk  valley  and  its 
great  religious  house.       He  desires  to  acknowledge  with  the 
deepest  gratitude  the  kind  assistance  which  he  has  received 
from  a  host  of  friends  in  all  classes,  who  have  aided  him  in 
such  a  way  that  without  their  help  his  task  would  have  been 
a  hopeless  and  impossible  one. 

J.  C.  CARRICK,  B.D., 
Minister  of  Newbattle. 

July,  1907. 


MAR  2  3  1999 


PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION. 

'HE  favour  with  which  the  First  Edition  has  been  received 
encourages  me  to  issue  a  Second,  with  considerable 
additions  and  notes. 

J.  C.  CARRICK. 
January,  1908. 


PREFACE  TO  THIRD  EDITION. 

7\    THIRD    Edition  has  been  called  for,   and,   with  large 
additions,  is  now  presented  to  the  public. 

J.  C.  CARRICK. 
October,  1908. 


SELKIRK  : 
PRINTED  BY  GEO.  LEWIS  &  CO.,  ART  PRINTERS. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

1.  THE  CISTERCIAN  ORDER  -  i 

2.  THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND  -  10 

3.  THE  ABBEY  OF  S.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE  -  34 

4.  WORSHIP,  LIFE  AND  WORK  IN  THE  ABBEY  59 

5.  THE  ABBEY  ESTATES  AND  PROPERTIES  72 

6.  THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  BUILDINGS  -  78 

7.  THE  EARLIEST  SCOTTISH  MINERS  -        87 

8.  THE  MONKS  OF  NEWBATTLE  AND  INVERESK  95 

9.  THE  VICISSITUDES  OF  THE  NEWBATTLE  CHARTULARY  109 

10.  THE  HOUSE  OF  LOTHIAN  -  113 

11.  THE  PICTURES  AND  TREASURES  OF  NEWBATTLE  HOUSE  131 

12.  THE  GOD'S  ACRES  OF  NEWBATTLE  138 

13.  THE  PASSING  AND  REST  OF  ARGYLL  146 

14.  KNOX  AND  THE  ESKSIDE  PARISHES  151 

15.  ARCHBISHOP  LEIGHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY  -  156 

16.  THE  STORY  OF  THE  NEWBATTLE  COMMUNION  PLATE  196 

17.  CHRONICLE  OF  THE  CLERGY  OF  NEWBATTLE  201 

1 8.  WILLIAM  CREECH,  THE  FRIEND  OF  BURNS  212 

19.  LITERARY  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  NEWBATTLE  226 

20.  THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES  236 

21.  SOME  SMALLER  PROPERTIES  IN  NEWBATTLE  271 

22.  CAMP  MEG  275 

23.  GEOLOGY  AND  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  NEWBATTLE  316 

24.  JAMES  GUTHRIE'S  LAST  SLEEP  AT  NEWBATTLE  -  321 

25.  MOORFOOT  328 
26!  THE  INVISIBLE  KIRK        -  334 

27.  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  NEWBATTLE  342 
NOTES        -                                                                                 -      345 

28.  NEWBATTLE  ABBEY  AND  DALKEITH  AND  SURROUNDING  CASTLES      350 

29.  TEMPLE  AND  ITS  KNIGHTS  358 

30.  THE  PRESBYTERY  OF  DALKEITH  AND  SOME  OTHERS  360 

31.  NEWBATTLE  ABBEY  AND  MONKLAND       -  -      368 

32.  THE  ROMANCE  OF  A  CATALOGUE  -  372 


The  Abbey  of  5t.  Mary,  Newbottle. 


I. 

THE  CISTERCIAN  ORDER. 

NONE  of  the  Reforms  of  the  Benedictine  Order  is  more 
illustrious  than  the  Cistercian,  to  which  the  monks  of 
Newbattle  belonged.  Deriving  its  name  from 
Citeaux  or  Cisteaux,  in  the  south  of  France, 
where  the  Order  was  begun  by  Robert  in  1098,  it 
received  its  greatest  impetus  from  its  chief  ornament,  St.  Ber- 
nard of  Clairvaux,  the  most  impressive  and  attractive  figure 
in  the  Europe  of  his  time,  a  great  saint,  a  mighty  theologian, 
an  impassioned  preacher,  and  known  to  the  humblest  Christians 
through  his  hymns  —  "  Jesus  the  very  thought  of  Thee," 
"  Jesus  Thou  joy  of  loving  hearts,"  "  O  Lamb  of  God  once 
wounded,"  and  others.  It  was  he  who  "made"  the  Cistercian 
order;  he  founded  also  their  great  Abbey  of  Clairvaux — "  the 
Vale  of  Brightness,"  in  what  had  once  been  "  the  Vale  of 
Wormwood."  By  1250  the  Cistercians  had,  it  is  said,  8000 
monasteries  and  convents.  As  Cisteaux  colonised  Clairvaux, 
so  Clairvaux  colonised  four  great  Abbeys  in  Northern  England 
— Kirkstall,  Furness,  Fountains,  and  Rievaulx,  whence  were 
filled  the  Scottish  Cistercian  houses  of  Dundrennan,  Glenluce, 
Sweetheart,  Coupar-Angus,  Sandal  in  Cantire,  Kinloss,  Cul- 
ross,  Deir,  Balmerino,  Melrose,  and  Newbattle. 

The  Cistercian  Order  has  now  three  different  "obser- 
vances," viz.,  I.  The  Strict,  followed  by  the  Trappists;  II. 
The  Middle,  followed  by  the  Congregation  of  Senanque;  and 
III.  The  common  observance  followed  by  many  abbeys  in 
Austria,  and  by  some  in  Italy  and  Belgium. 
A 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

The  ritual  and  rites  of  the  Strict  observance  similar  to 
those  followed  at  Newbottle  will  be  found  in  the  "  Rituale 
Cisterciense  ex  Libro  Usuum,  Definitionibus  Ordinus  et 
Caeremoniali  Episcoporum  Collectum,"  a  new  edition  of  which 
was  published  in  Lerins  some  two  years  and  a  half  since,  in 
octavo,  700  pages  and  more,  price  8  francs.  Since  it  was 
published  a  change  has  taken  place  with  regard  to  the  hour  of 
dinner,  which  formerly  was  sometimes  at  12  o'clock,  sometimes 
at  i  or  2,  or  even  3  and  4  o'clocks  according  to  the  time  of 
the  year,  and  according  as  the  day  was  feast  or  fast.  Now 
it  is  fixed  so  as  never  to  be  later  than  12  o'clock. 

The  observance  follows  the  "  Rituale  Cisterciense,"  except 
in  the  following  particulars : — I.  The  hour  of  rising  is  fixed  for 
2  o'clock  a.m.  on  the  great  feasts,  3  o'clock  on  other  days,  but 
monks  do  not  retire  to  rest  again  after  Lauds.  II.  Each  monk 
has  a  separate  cell.  III.  Dinner  is  always  at  12  o'clock,  and 
monks  are  allowed  a  small  portion  of  meat  on  nearly  all  the 
Sundays  of  the  year,  and  on  some  five  feast  days.  IV.  Monks 
are  allowed  to  talk  to  each  other  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
on  Sundays,  except  during  Lent,  and  on  several  feast  days. 
V.  Monks  go  to  bed  at  a  fixed  time,  viz.,  8  o'clock  p.m.  in 
winter,  and  at  8.30  p.m.  in  summer.  VI.  Monks  say  the  office 
of  the  dead,  in  addition  to  the  canonical  office  and  the  office 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  every  day. 

The  Cistercian  dress,  or  habit,  is  a  white  cassock,  black 
scapular  and  hood,  black  leather  girdle,  and  the  white  cuculla 
or  cowl,  with  white  hood,  which  is  worn  in  choir,  chapter  and 
refectory,  during  processions,  and  on  all  occasions  of  ceremony, 
such  as  receiving  bishops  or  other  distinguished  guests.  Shoes 
are  worn,  not  sandals. 

The  duties  of  cook  are  now  performed  by  one  of  the 
brethren  for  as  long  a  period  as  the  Abbot  shall  deem  fit; 
formerly  the  brethren  took  it  in  turns,  week  about,  to  act  as 
cooks. 

The  members  of  the  common  observance  devote  themselves 
in  great  measure  to  education  in  colleges  and  universities,  and 
many  in  Austria  to  parochial  duties,  and  consequently  cannot 
observe  the  strict  monastic  discipline  as  the  other  two  obser- 
vances do. 


THE   CISTERCIAN   ORDER. 


TIME  TABLE  FROM  EASTER  TILL  SEPTEMBER 
Ordinary  Days. 


3.0    Rise. 

3.10  Matins,  Lauds  B.V.  Medi- 
tation, Matins,  Lauds  of 
the  day,  Lauds    of    the 
Dead. 
5.0    Private  Masses,  at  which 

lay  brothers  assist. 
6.0     Prime,  Chapter,  mixtum. 
7.0    Clean  cells,  then  study  or 

manual  labour. 

9.30  Tierce,  Conventual  Mass. 
10.30  Interval. 


n.o     Spiritual  Reading. 

11.30  Text.        Examination      of 

Conscience. 
12.0    Dinner. 

2.0     None. 

3.0    Vespers.     Manual   labour. 

6.30  Meditation. 

7.0  Supper,  Conventual  Read- 
ing, Compline  Examina- 
tion of  Conscience. 

8.30  To  rest. 


FROM  i4TH  SEPTEMBER  TILL  LENT. 

Mornings  as  in  Summer. 

A-fternoon. 


1.30  None. 

1.45  Manual  labour. 

4.0  Interval. 

4.15  Vespers. 

6.0  Meditation. 


6.0 


6.30  Supper,  Conventual  Read- 
ing, Compline,  Examin- 
ation of  Conscience. 

S.o    To  Rest. 


DURING  LENT. 


Prime  and  Chapter,  fol- 
lowed by  Tierce  and 
Sext,  then  manual  la- 
bour or  study  till 
9.30  None,  and  Conventual 
Mass  Interval. 

H.IO  Vespers  of  B.V.  and  Ves- 
pers of  the  day,  Examin- 
ation of  Conscience. 

12. o     Dinner. 


1.45  Manual  labour. 


4.15  Interval. 

4.25  Spiritual  Reading. 

5.0  Vespers  and  Matins  of  the 
Dead. 

5.45  Conference  on  Dogmatic, 
Moral  Theology,  or 
Scripture. 

6.15  Meditation. 

6.45  Collation,  Conventual 
Reading,  Compline,  Ex- 
amination of  Conscience. 

8.15  To  rest. 


SOME  WRITERS  OF  THE  CISTERCIAN  ORDER. 


St.  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  sur- 
named  "  The  Mellifluous  Doc- 
tor," theologian,  poet,  etc. 
1 2th  Century. 

St.  Stephen  Harding,  third  Ab- 
bot of  Citeaux,  nth  to  i2th 
Centuries. 

St.  Alan,  "  The  Universal  Doc- 
tor," orator,  philos.  theolo- 
gian, 1 3th  Century. 

St.  Ailred  of  Rievaulx,  theolo- 
gian, 1 2th  Century. 

St.  Almus  of  Balmerino,  theolo- 
gian, 1 2th  Century. 

St.  Adam  of  Kilross,  i2th  (?) 
Century. 


St.  Arnulph  of  Melrose,  i2th 
Century. 

St.  Baldwin  of  Exeter,  theolo- 
gian, 1 2th  Century. 

St.  Ethelred,  Abbot  of  Warden, 
script.,  i3th  Century. 

St.  Everard  of  Melrose,  histor- 
ian, 1 2th  Century. 

St.  Gilbert  of  Swineshead,  theol. 
script. 

St.  Gregory  of  Bridlington, 
Monk  of  Glenluce,  theologian, 
1 3th  Century. 

St.-  William  Keith,  Abbot  of 
Kinloss,  poet,  i4th  Century. 


(3) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 


St.Willian  Remington  of  Salley, 
i4th  Century. 

St.  John  of  Ford  Abbey,  script., 
1 3th  Century. 

St.  Jocelin  of  Furness,  histor- 
ian, iath  Century. 

St.  Joseph  of  Dunrainan,  i3th 
Century. 

St.  Thomas  of  Sandal,  theolo- 
gian, i3th  Century. 

St.  John  Selro  of  Fountains, 
1 2th  Century. 

St.  Henriquez,  historian,  i6th 
Century. 

Pope  Benedict  XII.,  theologian, 
script.,  i4th  Century. 

Caesarius  of  Heisterbach,  script. 
1 3th  Century. 

Boniface  Simoneta,  theologian, 
philosopher,  isth  Century. 

Francis  Vivarius  (Spaniard), 
historian,  iyth  Century. 

Caspar  Jongelin,  historian,  i7th 
Century. 

Lawrence  of  Zamora,  theologian, 
scrip,  sermons,  lyth  Century. 

Charles  de  Visch,  theologian, 
1 7th  Century. 

Manriquez,  theologian  and  his- 
torian, 1 7th  Century. 


William  of  Benyne,  Prior  de 
Newbottle,  et  postea  Abbas 
Cupri,  in  Scotia,  Vir  insigni 
pictate,  nee  minori  litteratura, 
religiosi  voti,  diligens  observ- 
ator,  Scripsit,  de  Vita  S. 
Joannis  Scoti,  nati  in  Villa 
Podoen,  prope  Leyam,  in 

*  Anglia,  deinde,  Sancti,  An- 
drea E pi sco pi  electi,  lib.  I. 
teste  Demstero,  lib.  II.,  qui 
pariter  asserit,  librum  alium 
in  Scoti-chronico,  lib.  VI., 
cap.  40,  vocari  elegantim,  et, 
alia  plura  edidisse,  qua  ad 
notitiam  suam  non  pervener- 
unt.  Vixit  amro,  1188. 

(The  above  note  on  Benyne  is 
taken  from  "  Bibliotheca 
Scriptorum  Sacri  Ordinis  Cis- 
terciensis,"  by  Don  Charles  de 
Visch,  Prior  of  the  Monastery 
of  the  Dunes,  printed  in  Col- 
ogne, 1656.) 

lean  de  la  Barriere,  i6th  Cen- 
tury. 

Cardinal  John  Bona,  »7th  Cen- 
tury. 

Abb6  de  Rancd,  i7th  Century. 


SOME  SAINTS  OF  THE  ORDER. 


St.  Robert,  St.  Alberic,  St.  Ste- 
phen Harding,  first  three  Ab- 
bots of  Citeaux,  and  founders 
of  the  Order. 

St  Bernard,  "The  Mellifluous 
Doctor,"  first  Abbot  of  Clair- 
vaux. 

St.  Almus  and  Tynna  of  Mel- 
rose. 


St.  Walter,  son  of  King  David, 

monk  of  Melrose. 
St.  Robert  of  Newminster. 
St.   Fenian,  hermit,  theologian. 
St.  William  of  Bourges. 
St.  Bernard  of  Vich. 
St.  John  of  Valence. 
St.  Stephen  of  Obazin. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  CISTERCIAN  ORDER. 


Common  observance  (Monks),  -  19  692 

Middle           „                „  5 

Strict             „                „  -  59  *>33S 

General  Total,  -  83  2,117 


Monasteries.  Choir  Monks.    Lay  Brothers.    Total. 


67 
62 

1.907 
2,036 


Monasteries.  Choir  Nuns.  Lay  Sisters. 

Common  observance  (Nuns),      -    85  1,737               676 

Middle           „                ,,                    i  25 

Strict                               „              -    32  631               670 


General    Total, 


-  128 


2,393 


1.357 


759 
149 

3.245 

4.153 
Total. 

2,4J3 

36 

1.301 

3.75° 


Grand  Total,   - 


211 

(4) 


4.510 


3.393 


7.903 


THE   CISTERCIAN   ORDER. 

SOME  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  MONASTERIES  (MONKS). 

Italy. 
Common  observance  (a)  Holy  Cross,  Rome;  (£)  St.  Bernard's,  Rome. 


St.  Anthony's 

Belgium. 
St.  Bernard's,     - 

Austria-Hungary. 

(a)  Holy  Cross;  (b)  Zwettl, 
Wilhering. 

(a)  Ossegg;  (b)  Hohenfurt, 
Zircz,  .  ... 
Mehreran  in  Vorarlberg, 


-    Cartona. 


Bornhem. 


Lower  Austria. 
Upper        „ 

Bohemia. 

Hungary. 

Austria. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  CISTERCIAN  ORDER. 

France. 

Department. 

Middle  observance  N.  D.  de  Senanque,  -        -        -  Vauclure. 

,,         Fontfroide          -         -  Aude. 

,,        Hautecombe,       -        -  Savoy. 

,,         Lerins,        -         -         -  Alpes  Maritimes. 

,,         Pont  Colbert,     -        -  Seine-et-Oise. 

France. 

Strict  observance  N.  D.  de  La  Grande  Trappe,   -  Orne. 

Melleray,    -         -        -  Loire  Inferieure. 

Port  du  Salut,  -        -  Mayenne. 

Bellefontaine,     -        -  Maine  et  Loire. 

Aiguebelle,          -        -  Drome. 

Septfons,     -         -         -  Allier. 

Mont  des  Olives,        -  Alsace. 

Font  Fontgombault,   -  Indre. 

des  Dombes,        -         -  Ain. 

de  Bonnecombe,  -  Aveyron. 

Ste  Marie  du  Mont,  -  Nord. 

Staoueli,      -        -        -  Algiers. 

England. 

Mount  St.  Bernard's,  Nottinghamshire 

Ireland. 

Mount  St  Joseph,      -  Tipperary. 

Mount  Melleray         -  Waterford. 

Belgium. 

la  Trappe  du  Sacre  Coeur,   Wetsmalle. 

Saint  Sixte,         -         -  Westvleteren. 

St.  Benoit,          -         -  Achel,  Liege. 

Scourmont,  -        -  a  Forges. 


Italy. 
Catacombs, 
(5) 


Rome. 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 


SOME  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  MONASTERIES  (MONKS). 


United  States  of  America. 
N.  D.  de  Gethsemani,  Kentucky. 
„        New  Melleray,    Iowa. 

Canada 

x-  ™    r>  *•*  r-i   •  XT 

N.D.  Petit  Clairvaux,      Nova 

,     T  ,     " 

„      du  Lac,  -        .     Montreal. 

,,      St.  Norbert,   -     Manitoba. 
,.      Mistassini,      -     Quebec. 

South  Africa.         • 
[  Marianhill,        Natal. 
N  D-       1    59    choir    religious; 
(170  lay  brothers. 

Australia. 

N.  D.  Sacred  Heart,  Beagle  Bay, 
West  Australia. 


China. 
N.  D.  Consolation,       Pe-tchi-ly. 

N.  D.  Val  San  Tos6,  Perales  del 
Rio,  Madrid. 
„     San  Isidro,  Duefias, 

Palencia 

Austria. 

N.D.  La  Deliverance,      Styria. 
Mariastern,  Bosnia. 

Holland. 
N  D    Koeningshoevenj   Tilberg. 

Palestine. 
N.D.  Seven  Dolours,          Jaffa. 


In  the  old  days  the  White  monks,  Bernardines  or  Cis- 
tercians, were  a  very  powerful  Order  in  Scotland.  As  previ- 
ously remarked,  they  were  a  reformed  Order  of  Benedictines, 
and  at  the  start  at  any  rate  rather  posed  as  ascetic  in  life  and 
taste  —  rich  decoration,  in  church,  even  being  forbidden,  as  well 
as  church  towers,  only  a  simple  low  lantern  with  a 
saddle-back  or  pyramidal  roof,  such  as  can  be  seen 
in  Crichton  and  Corstorphine  Churches,  and  Borthwick  Castle 
and  St.  Margaret's  Chapel  on  the  Edinburgh  Castle  rock, 
being  allowed.  Melrose  and  Newbattle  had  never  more  than 
a  saddle-back  tower  as  the  main  feature  of  the  Abbey.  In 
course  of  time  the  early  discipline  was  relaxed,  and  as  at 
Melrose,  rich  and  ornate  architecture  came  into  vogue.  What 
happened  to  the  Cistercians  happened  later  with  the  Friars, 
who  began  with  simplicity  of  life  and  style  and  architecture, 
and  ended  with  luxuriance  in  all. 

The  Cistercian  rules  and  methods  in  the  middle  ages 
aimed  at  simplicity  and  austerity.  The  motto  of  the  Order  — 
an  extract  from  St  Bernard  —  was  generally  carved  up  over  the 
entrance  gates  of  {he  house  :  — 

"It  is  good  for  us  to  be  here,  where  man  lives  more 
purely,  falls  more  rarely,  rises  more  quickly,  treads  more 
cautiously,  rests  more  securely,  dies  more  happily,  is  absolved 
more  easily,  and  rewarded  more  plenteously  "  —  words  beauti- 
fully versified  by  Wordsworth. 

Dress  —  Plain  white  habit  of  flannel  cloth,  black  scapular 
(6)  • 


THE  CISTERCIAN  ORDER. 

and  hood,  black  leather  girdle,  and  white  cowl ;  white  hood 
worn  in  choir,  chapter  and  refectory,  in  processions  and  cere- 
monial occasions.  Shoes  worn,  not  sandals.  Abbey  Time- 
Table — A.M.,  3,  Rise;  3.10,  Matins,  Lauds  B.V.,  Meditation, 
Lauds  of  the  Day,  Lauds  of  the  Dead.  5,  Private  Masses 
at  which  lay-brothers  assist.  6,  Prime,  Chapter,  Mixtum. 
7,  Clean  Cells,  Study,  Manual  Labour.  9.30,  Tierce,  Con- 
ventual Mass.  10.30,  Interval,  n,  Spiritual  Reading.  11.30, 
Text,  Examination  of  Conscience.  12,  Dinner.  P.M.,  2, 
Nones.  3,  Vespers,  Manual  Labour.  6.30,  Meditation.  7, 
Supper,  Conventual  Reading,  Compline,  Examination  of  Con- 
science. 8.30,  To  Rest. 

The  buildings  consisted  of  a  church  and  a  cloister 
attached.  The  cloister  consisted  of  a  square,  with  open  space 
in  the  middle,  and  in  the  two-storeyed  buildings  round  it- 
refectory,  dormitories,  guest-chamber,  library,  scriptorium,  and 
other  apartments.  There  were  also  an  infirmary  for  the  aged 
and  sick,  several  penitential  cells,  and  other  apartments. 

Outside  there  was  the  Abbot's  house,  domestic  offices,  and 
farms  and  granaries — Newton  Grange  being  the  farm  for  New- 
battle  Abbey  for  generations. 

The  site  of  a  Cistercian  Abbey  was  uniformly  chosen  in  a 
sequestered  and  lonely  place,  near  water — witness  Melrose  by 
the  Tweed,  and  Newbattle  beside  the  Esk.  The  church  and 
buildings  in  early  times  were  always  rigorously  simple,  white- 
wash being  freely  used,  while  the  stained  glass  of  the  church, 
as  the  fragments  of  it  remaining  at  Newbattle  testify,  was  of 
the  plainest  type.  The  Abbey  church  was  always  dedicated 
to  St  Mary  the  Virgin,  and  the  sacerdotal  vestments  were  of 
the  plainest  type,  while  peals  of  bells  were  unknown. 

In  Ellis'  "  Specimens  "  there  is  a  description  of  a  Cis- 
tercian house : — 

"  There  is  a  well  fair  Abbey 

Of  white  monks  and  of  grey; 

There  be  bowers  and  halls, 

shingles   all, 

Of  church,  cloister,  bowers,  and  hall. 

There  is  a  cloister  fair  and  light, 

Broad  and  long,  of  seemly  sight; 

The  pillars  of  that  cloister  all 

Be  yturned  of  christal, 

With  harlas  (plinth)  and  capital, 

Of  green  jasper  and  red  coral. 

In  the  praer  [the  garthe]  is  a  tree 

Suithe  [very]  likely  for  to  see." 

(7) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

The  Cistercian  rules  of  the  present  day  have  been  cited ; 
the  rules  for  the  houses  of  the  White  monks  in  Scotland  for 
several  hundred  years  before  the  Reformation  may  now  be 
quoted  : — "  All  enter  the  dormitory  after  the  Salve  Regina 
[the  hymn,  "  Hail  Queen  of  Heaven  "]  and  none  leave  it  until 
the  vigil  of  the  morrow  is  rung.  Every  brother  shall  sleep  in 
his  own  bed  in  a  cloth  habit.  The  sacristan  shall  lock  the 
doors,  and  the  Abbot  shall  receive  the  keys  in  order  that  he 
may  visit  each  cell  separately.  There  shall  be  a  strong 
dungeon  for  offenders,  and  a  cell  appointed  for  the  scourge, 
and  in  addition  bread  and  water  fare.  [These  arrangements 
can  be  seen  at  Pluscardine  and  Kynloss.]  Guests  are  allowed 
to  converse  only  with  the  Abbot  or  Prior.  Novices  are  received 
at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  serve  a  year  on  probation.  On 
certain  days  flesh-meat  is  allowed  in  the  grace-hall.  No 
brother  is  allowed  to  leave  the  monastery,  except  in  case  of 
absolute  necessity  or  business,  and  then  only  for  a  prescribed 
time  and  destination." 

How  beautiful  they  stand, 

Those  grey  old  altars  of  our  native  land  ! 

Amid  the  pasture-fields  and  dark  greenwoods, 

Amid  the  mountain's  shady  solitudes, 

By  rivers  broad  that  rush  into  the  sea. 

By  little  brooks  that,  with  a  lapping  sound 
Like  playful  children  run  by  copse  and  lea  : 

Each  in  its  little  plot  of  holy  ground ; 
How  beautiful  they  stand, 
Those  old  grey  churches  of  our  native  land  ! 

Our  lives  are  all  turmoil : 

Our  souls  are  in  a  weary  strife  and  toil, 

Grasping  and  straining, — tasking  nerve  and  brain 

Both  day  and  night  for  gain  ! 

We  have  grown  worldly, — have  made  gold  our  god, 

Have  turned  our  hearts  away  from  holy  things  : 
We  seek  not  now  the  wild  flower  on  the  sod ; 

We  seek  not  snowy-folded  angel's  wings 
Amid  the  summer  skies, 
For  visions  come  not  to  polluted  eyes  ! 

Yet,  blessed  quiet  fanes, 

Still  piety,  still  poetry  remains, 

And  shall  remain,  whilst  ever  on  the  air 

One  chapel-bell  calls  high  and  low  to  prayer, — 

Whilst  ever  green  and  sunny  churchyards  keep 

The  dust  of  our  beloved,  and  tears  are  shed 
From  founts  which  in  the  human  heart  lie  deep ; 

Something  in  these  aspiring  days  we  need, 
To  keep  our  spirits  lowly, 

To  set  within  our  hearts  sweet  thoughts  and  holy ; 
And  'tis  for  this  they  stand, 
These  old  grey  churches  of  our  native  land  ! 

(8) 


THE  CISTERCIAN  ORDER. 


And  even  in  the  gold-corrupted  mart 

In  the  great  City's  heart 

They  stand  :  and  chantry  dim  and  'organ  sound, 

And  stated  services  of  prayer  and  praise, — 
Like  to  the  righteous  ten  which  were  not  found 

For  the  polluted  city, — shall  upraise 
Meek  faith  and  love  sincere, — 
Better  in  time  of  need  than  shield  and  spear  ! 


(9) 


II. 

THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

THE  real  centre  of  missionary  influence  in  Scotland  in 
the  twelfth  century  was  Old  Melrose — the  home  of 
St.    Bosil   [Boswell],    St.    Aidan,    St.    Cuthbert,   and 
others.     Old   Melrose  or   Eld   Bottle — the  old  resi- 
dence of  the  Christian  missionaries — is  still  traceable 
in  mounds,  carved  stones,  and  traditions,  and  some  account  of 
the  influence  of  the  place  seems  to  be  called  for. 

Two  English  cathedrals  owe  their  existence  to  Scot- 
land. St.  Asaph's,  in  Wales,  was  founded  by  the  missionary 
of  that  name  under  the  direction  of  St.  Mungo  or 
Kentigern,  and  strangely  enough  that  cathedral  stands 
in  a  Vale  of  Clwyd,  as  the  magnificent  Cathedral  of 
Glasgow  also  does.  The  proper  title  of  Durham  Cathedral 
is  "  St.  Cuthbert's."  It  owes  its  origin  to  that  great  mission- 
ary who  began  his  religious  life  in  Old  Melrose  Abbey,  and 
evangelised  a  great  part  of  eastern  Scotland,  founding,  amongst 
many  other  churches,  that  of  St.  Cuthbert's,  Edinburgh,  the 
site  of  which  is  to-day  occupied  by  a  stately  edifice  worthy  of 
the  great  traditions  of  the  past,  and  no  longer  deserving,  as 
its  predecessor  was,  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  famous  sarcasm 
that  "  St.  John's  Episcopal  Chapel  was  a  pretty  toy,  and 
St.  Cuthbert's  its  German  packing  box."  With  a  singular 
appropriateness  the  new  parish  church  of  St.  Aidan' s  close 
by,  and  within  the  ancient  parochial  boundaries,  has  been 
named  after  St.  Cuthbert's  great  teacher,  whose  holy  life 
instigated  the  youthful  Melrose  postulant  to  enter  heartily 
into  the  service  of  the  Church  of  God;  so  that  as  St. 
Cuthbert's  spiritual  father  was  St.  Aidan,  in  later  days  "  St. 
Aidan's  "  becomes  the  spiritual  daughter  of  "  St.  Cuthbert's." 
The  story  of  St.  Cuthbert  carries  us  back  to  St.  Aidan, 
the  first  missionary  who  began  with  any  success  the  cause  of 
Christ  in  northern  England,  and  who  made  Holy  Island 
or  Lindisfarne  the  centre  of  his  operations.  He  was  not 
exactly  the  first  missionary  to  Northumbria,  for  the  missionaries 

(10) 


THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

of  lona  had  sent  one  of  their  number,  named  Gorman,  to 
preach  Christ  in  north  England,  in  answer  to  the  earnest 
petition  of  Oswald,  king  of  Bernicia — a  kingdom  which  then 
included  the  south-east  of  Scotland  and  the  north-east  of 
England.  This  missionary,  however,  owing  to  his  austerity 
and  uncompromising  nature,  met  with  little  or  no  success, 
and  returned  to  lona  discouraged  and  defeated.  The  fathers 
of  lona  held  a  council  as  to  who  should  be  sent  to  fill  his 
place.  At  that  assembly  in  the  Holy  Island  of  the  west 
coast,  which  was  even  then  almost  the  brightest  spot  of 
Christian  influence  in  western  Europe,  and  from  whose  shores 
eventually  missionaries  were  sent  to  all  Scotland,  north 
England,  France,  Germany  (Columbanus),  Switzerland  (St. 
Gall),  Iceland,  and  Greenland — at  that  assembly  a  missionary 
named  Aidari  rose  up  and  said,  "  It  seems  to  me,  brother, 
that  you  were  more  harsh  with  your  unlearned  hearers  than 
was  reasonable,  and  did  not  first,  as  the  Apostle  has  taught 
us,  offer  them  the  milk  of  less  solid  doctrine,  until,  gradually 
nourished  by  the  Word  of  God,  they  would  have  been  able 
to  accept  a  more  advanced  teaching  and  stricter  rule  of  life. ' ' 

The  result  of  this  Council  of  lona  was  that  Aidan  was 
despatched  to  Northumbria,  and  was  ordained  chief  missionary 
of  these  parts,  and  under  his  rule  Christianity  made  rapid 
strides.  King  Oswald  fixed  the  missionaries'  house  in  the 
island  of  Lindisfarne,  or  "  Holy  Island,"  off  the  coast  of 
Northumberland — a  bit  of  rock  2f  miles  long  and  i|  miles 
broad — an  island  which  for  ages  was  the  chief  centre  of 
Christian  influence  for  all  that  coast  and  north  England 
generally,  as  well  as  southern  Scotland.  The  king's  chief 
residence  was  at  Bamborough  Castle,  at  Bamborough  Head; 
and,  doubtless,  King  Oswald,  in  fixing  the  missionaries'  home 
in  Holy  Island,  had  in  view  not  only  his  own  benefit,  in 
being  near  Christian  and  civilising  influences,  but  also  the 
benefit  the  missionaries  would  derive  from  his  protection  and 
direct  influence.  Christianity  rapidly  spread  under  Aidan's 
wise  and  loving  rule,  and  his  administration  was  vigorous 
and  effective.  He  took  twelve  boys  of  Northumbria  to  teach 
in  the  way  of  Christ;  and  when  one  of  these,  named  Eata, 
had  come  to  manhood,  Aidan  sent  him  to  found  the  monastery 
of  Old  Melrose,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Tweed,  near  the 
Eildon  Hills.  This  Eata  became  its  first  abbot;  and  it  was 

fn) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

he  who  received  St.  Cuthbert  into  Christ's  Church,  and  set 
him  on  the  missionary's  path.  It  may  be  added  that  another 
of  these  twelve  lads  was  St.  Chad,  who  afterwards  became 
Bishop  of  Lichfield. 

Having  mentioned  these  details  as  to  the  connection  be- 
tween lona  and  general  missionary  work  in  Scotland,  and 
specially  in  southern  Scotland  and  northern  England,  I  may 
briefly  sketch  the  life  of  St.  Cuthbert,  the  spiritual  child 
both  of  Aidan  and  Eata. 

A  fourteenth  century  manuscript  preserved  in  York  Cath- 
edral Library  gives  a  strangely  fictitious  story  as  to  the  birth 
and  parentage  of  St.  Cuthbert — that  his  mother  was  an  Irish 
king's  daughter,  &c.  This  is  a  legend  very  frequently  invented 
regarding  the  early  missionaries  and  saints.  The  great 
authority  on  St.  Cuthbert 's  life  is  the  Venerable  Bede,  in  his 
"  Ecclesiastical  History,"  written  at  Jarrow.  But,  besides 
the  historical  narration  in  his  great  work,  Bede  wrote  a  brief 
life  of  the  saint  in  beautiful  English,  and  likewise  penned 
a  metrical  biography  of  the  man  who  in  things  sacred  exercised 
the  greatest  influence  over  northern  England  of  any  who  ever 
lived.  Bede  says  nothing  regarding  St.  Cuthbert's  birth  and 
parents;  but  probably  he  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and,  at 
any  rate,  was  brought  up  in  the  Tweed  valley  at  Melrose. 
Bede  refers  to  a  good  woman  whom  St.  Cuthbert  called 
"  mother."  He  must  have  been  born  about  637  A.D. 

Tradition  says  that,  when  playing  one  day  with  his  school- 
fellows, a  fair  young  child  came  to  him,  and  said,  "  Good 
brother,  leave  these  vain  plays ;  set  not  thine  heart  upon  them ; 
mind  thy  book.  Has  not  God  chosen  thee  to  be  great  in 
His  Church?"  Cuthbert  heeded  not.  Then  the  child  wept; 
and  when  Cuthbert  tried  to  comfort  him,  he  said,  "  Nay,  my 
brother,  it  is  for  thee  I  weep,  that  preferrest  thy  vain  sports 
to  the  teaching  of  the  servants  of  God."  The  child  vanished, 
and  Cuthbert  knew  that  it  was  an  angel.  This  incident 
turned  his  life  into  a  new  channel.  He  became  a  great 
preacher  and  missioner,  "  modest  in  the  virtue  of  patience 
and  affable  to  all  who  came  to  him  for  comfort."  The 
incident  of  St.  Cuthbert  and  the  angel  is  recorded  in  the 
first  lesson  on  St.  Cuthbert's  Day  (March  2oth)  in  the  "  Aber- 
deen Breviary."  As  a  boy,  Cuthbert  seems  to  have  been 
fond  of  sport  and  games,  quick  and  active,  anxious  to  be 


THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

first  in  everything.  He  served  as  a  shepherd  in  the  Tweed 
valley  round  about  Old  Melrose,  where  the  abbey  had  sprung 
up  under  St  Aidan  and  Eata.  One  biographer  declares  that 
for  a  brief  period  he  was  a  soldier,  and  the  monkish  chronicler 
describes  him  "  living  in  camp,  with  the  enemy  in  front,  and 
subsisting  on  scanty  rations,  yet  thriving  and  flourishing  like 
Daniel  and  the  three  holy  children  on  their  poor  fare." 

Cuthbert  had  suffered  from  a  swelling  in  the  knee,  which, 
having  been  cured,  he  betook  himself  to  the  life  of  a  religious. 
It  is  related  that  in  answer  to  his  prayers  some  ships  in 
imminent  danger  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tyne  (the  small  river 
which  enters  the  sea  near  Aberlady,  in  East  Lothian)  were 
saved  from  wreck.  Later  on  he  was  watching  his  flocks  as  a 
shepherd  on  the  banks  of  the  Leader  (a  tributary  of  the  Tweed), 
and  by  night  he  had  his  famous  vision  of  the  soul  of  St. 
Aidan  being  carried  up  into  heaven  in  a  blaze  of  celestial 
glory.  Bede  declares  that  this  memorable  vision  of  his  master 
passing  Elijah- like  into  paradise,  made  him  resolve  to  follow 
him  and  enter  a  monastery.  From  that  day  he  entered  Old 
Melrose  monastery,  not  the  beautiful  Melrose  Abbey  of  a  later 
day  founded  by  David  I.,  but  a  much  humbler  religious  house, 
almost  enclosed  by  the  windings  of  the  Tweed,  near  St. 
Boswells. 

A  few  words  regarding  Old  Melrose  Abbey  may  be  inter- 
esting. This  monastery  was  begun  by  St.  Aidan,  to  whom 
we  have  already  referred,  and  was  the  most  important  religious 
house  planted  by  that  great  missionary  in  the  south  of  Scot- 
land. St.  Aidan,  then  Bishop  of  Lindisfarne,  on  the  north- 
east coast  of  England  --  "the  lona  of  the  east  coast" 
planted  Old  Melrose  Monastery  about  645  A.D. 

The  name  "  Mailros,"  the  old  and  more  accurate  spelling 
of  Melrose,  signifies  the  "bare  headland."  It  was  colonised 
from  Lindisfarne,  St.  Aidan's  own  monastery,  which  it  must 
be  remembered  had  nothing  to  do  with  Rome  or  Roman 
Catholicism,  but  was  one  of  the  parent  seats  of  the  Celtic 
Church.  This  Old  Melrose  Abbey  became  brilliantly  famous 
in  later  days.  It  became  in  time  the  mother  of  Ripon,  as 
we  shall  see  later.  The  first  Bishop  of  Ratisbon,  St.  Gailbald  ; 
the  apostle  of  the  Germans,  St.  Boniface ;  and  the  Abbot 
of  the  Benedictines  of  Pavia,  John  of  Mailros,  all  studied 
within  its  walls.  In  839  Kenneth  II.  burned  the  monastery 

(13) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

down.  When  on  its  way  to  Durham  Cathedral,  the  body  of 
St.  Cuthbert  rested  here.  Old  Melrose  remained  for  many 
years  in  ruins,  till  in  1073  some  monks  from  Winchcombe,  who 
had  settled  for  a  time  at  Monk  Wearmouth,  rebuilt  it.  Sub- 
sequently the  Abbey  became  dependent  on  Coldingham  Priory 
on  the  east  coast,  and  thus  it  remained  until  1136.  In  that 
year  David  I.  granted  it  to  his  new  Abbey  of  Melrose  further 
up  the  river — the  great  Cistercian  Abbey,  made  famous  by 
Sir  Walter  Scott — and  gave  in  exchange  for  it  St.  Laurence's, 
Berwick.  In  the  reign  of  Robert  I.  it  was  again  burned 
down  by  the  English.  It  was  afterwards  rebuilt,  and  even 
in  the  fifteenth  century  was  famous  as  a  place  of  pilgrimage. 
This  Old  Melrose  Abbey  has  altogether  disappeared,  save  for 
the  fact  that  in  the  modern  village  of  Old  Melrose  the  ancient 
Abbey  stones  can  still  be  traced,  with  their  antique  carvings 
and  moulded  capitals.  The  site  of  the  building  is  still  called 
"  The  Chapel  Knoll."  A  particular  road  led  from  the  north 
exit  out  to  the  "  sanctuary  "  or  "girth,"  within  which  criminals 
were  safe.  A  wall  stretched  across  the  narrowest  portion  of 
the  river-peninsula  on  which  the  Abbey  stood,  and  can  still 
be  traced.  In  later  days  Old  Melrose  was  dedicated  to  "  St. 
Cuthbert,"  and  the  little  town  of  St.  Boswells  hard  by,  takes 
its  name  from  the  St.  Boisil,  under  whom  St.  Cuthbert  studied, 
and  who  was  connected  with  the  house  when  the  great  saint 
of  the  east  coast  first  took  upon  him  religious  vows.  The 
only  abbots  whose  names  have  come  down  to  us  in  connection 
with  this  most  interesting  old  Abbey  are  Eata,  a  disciple  of 
St.  Aidan,  Abbot  of  Lindisfarne  at  a  later  date,  and  conse- 
crated to  Hexham  in  685  ;  St.  Odunald,  who,  it  is  related, 
had  on  his  deathbed  the  vision  of  an  angel  comforting  him; 
St.  Ethelwald,  a  disciple  of  St.  Cuthbert,  who,  in  724,  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Lindisfarne;  St.  Theynan,  who  was 
counsellor  to  King  Eugenius  VI.,  and  died  on  September  a6th; 
William  Douglas,  who  was  confessor  to  King  Malcolm  III., 
and  who  built  the  cloister.  The  glories  of  Old  Melrose  soon 
disappeared  after  the  rise  of  the  magnificent  Abbey  of  New 
Melrose,  which,  under  David  I.,  as  a  Roman  monastery,  took 
the  place  of  the  ancient  Celtic  house,  which  did  not  own  the 
Roman  doctrine  or  supremacy.  We  must  regard  Old  Melrose, 
therefore,  as  the  parent  seat  of  primitive  Christianity  in  this 
part  of  Scotland. 


THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

It  was  in  the  year  651  A.D.  that  young  Cuthbert,  after 
all  his  experiences  as  shepherd  and  soldier,  entered  Old  Melrose 
Abbey.  Eata  was  abbot  of  the  house,  and  Boisil  was  provost. 
Cuthbert  rode  to  the  monastery  spear  in  hand — perhaps  natural 
in  an  age  of  turmoil  and  ferocity,  and  perhaps  from  old 
custom,  having  to  protect  his  flocks  by  night  from  ravaging 
plunderers.  When  he  arrived,  Boisil  was  standing  at  the 
monastery  door,  and  received  him  with  much  kindness.  A  few 
days  after,  Eata,  the  abbot,  who  had  been  away,  received 
Cuthbert  as  one  of  the  brotherhood,  and  from  that  day 
Cuthbert  was  numbered  as  one  of  the  family  of  Old  Melrose. 

It  must  be  distinctly  remembered  that  at  this  time  the 
Church  of  Scotland  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  The  Church  of  Rome  entered  Scot- 
land with  Queen  Margaret  (who  became  the  wife  of  Malcolm 
Canmore,  circa  1070),  and  their  son,  David  I.,  1124-1153. 
Before  that  .time  the  Church  was  primitive  and  pure — truly 
national  and  independent  of  all  external  rule  or  authority. 
The  authority  of  the  Pope  was  not  acknowledged — indeed, 
never  thought  of — and  it  was  not  till  after  a  severe  and 
prolonged  struggle  that  the  ancient  Culdee  or  Columban  Church 
of  Scotland  was  conquered,  overshadowed,  and  absorbed  by 
the  Church  of  Rome.  Old  Melrose  represents  the  primitive, 
independent,  national  Church  of  Scotland ;  New  Melrose  (the 
existing  ruins  of  which  are  still  beautiful  in  decay)  represents 
the  triumphant  Church  of  Rome. 

But  to  return  to  St  Cuthbert.  After  his  admission  to  Old 
Melrose  he  became  an  earnest  missionary.  "In  reading  and 
praying,  working  and  watching,"  he  excelled  all  his  brethren. 
He  abstained  from  everything  which  would  unfit  him  for 
his  laborious  work,  and  even  yet  his  strength  and  vigour  are 
proverbial. 

Years  passed  away,  and  Eata,  the  Abbot  of  Old  Melrose, 
took  Cuthbert  with  him  to  England,  and  together  they  founded 
the  monastery  of  Ripon,  over  which  Cuthbert  was  appointed 
provost.  A  story  is  related  of  him  at  this  time,  that  one 
morning  very  early  a  traveller  arrived  at  Ripon  Monastery 
cold,  wearied,  and  hungry.  Cuthbert  washed  his  feet,  and 
begged  the  strange  visitant  to  remain  till  nine  in  the  morning, 
when  the  brethren  had  their  first  meal.  The  stranger  waited. 
When  the  bells  sounded  out  their  summons,  Cuthbert  left  his 

US) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

guest,  to  fetch  bread  for  the  refection :  on  his  return  the 
guest  was  gone,  and  three  loaves  lay  on  the  table.  Then 
Cuthbert  knew  that  the  visitor  had  been  an  angel.  Such  is 
the  tradition  of  Ripon  Abbey. 

A  controversy  was  then  raging  in  Western  Christendom  as 
to  the  right  date  of  Easter,  and  the  Celtic  Church  generally 
took  a  different  method  of  calculating  it  from  the  Roman 
Church.  The  controversy  reached  Ripon,  and  divided  the 
house.  Cuthbert  and  some  other  brethren  decided  to  return 
to  their  Scottish  home,  rather  than  accept  what  they  believed 
to  be  an  error.  In  course  of  time  the  Roman  style  of  calcu- 
lating Easter  came  to  prevail  over  all  Western  Christendom, 
and  it  does  so  still — the  Greek  or  Eastern  Church  keeping 
the  festival  of  Christ's  Resurrection  on  a  different  day,  arrived 
at  through  different  methods  of  calculating.  And  yet  Cuthbert 
was  no  follower  of  divisive  courses,  for  he  said  once,  "  Have 
no  communion  with  those  who  err  from  catholic  unity.  I 
would  rather  that  you  took  my  bones  from  the  tomb  to  reside 
wherever  God  may  direct  you,  than  that  you  should  consent 
in  any  way  to  the  wickedness  of  schismatics."  Another  point 
of  dispute  between  the  Columban  and  the*  Roman  Church  was 
as  to  tonsure — the  correct  way  of  cutting  ecclesiastical  hair. 
In  that  age  churches  seemed  to  spend  their  superfluous  energies 
on  hair-cutting,  to-day  they  spend  them  in  hair-splitting. 

Returning  to  Melrose,  he  found  the  country  devastated 
with  plague.  Boisil,  who  had  first  received  him  in  Christ's 
name  for  Christ's  work,  sickened  and  died  of  it, — Cuthbert 
cheering  his  closing  hours  with  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  reading 
probably  from  a  copy  of  the  very  translation  which  the  Vener- 
able Bede  had  made  at  Jarrow,  and  which  was  almost  certainly 
the  first  English  translation  of  any  part  of  the  Bible.  Bede 
only  translated  St.  John's  Gospel ;  and  his  own  closing  hours 
and  last  moments  were  spent  in  dictating  the  precious  words 
which  in  time  were  to  change  both  England  and  Scotland  into 
bright  provinces  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  Cuthbert  like- 
wise sickened ;  but  with  characteristic  energy  he  rose  from  his 
simple  bed,  from  which  he  had  heard  the  distant  murmur  of 
the  brethren's  voices  lifted  up  in  prayer  for  his  sake,  and 
said,  "  Why  do  I  lie  here?  We  cannot  think  that  God  will 
despise  the  prayers  of  so  many  good  men.  Give  me  my  staff 
and  sandals." 

(16) 


THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Having  recovered  from  his  serious  illness,  Cuthbert  was, 
by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  brethren,  elected  successor  to 
St.  Boisil,  one  of  his  own  spiritual  parents.  Having  assumed 
office,  Cuthbert  assiduously  preached  all  through  the  Tweed 
valley,  making  long  journeys  to  sequestered  places,  and  gradu- 
ally bringing  in  the  heathen  peoples  of  the  east  and  south-east 
of  Scotland  to  the  obedience  of  Christ.  "  He  now,"  says 
a  biographer,  "  gave  full  scope  to  that  love  of  souls  which 
his  long  retreat  had  fostered,  emerging  from  it,  like  his  Divine 
Master  from  the  desert,  to  spend  and  be  spent  in  their  behalf. 
As  he  went  about  doing  good,  and  proclaiming  with  many  a 
miracle  the  power  of  the  Gospel,  his  sunny  cheerfulness  and 
loving  sympathy  attracted  all  men,  while  the  peacefulness  of 
his  scul  and  his  hatred  of  all  schism  won  them  to  find  their 
rest  in  God  and  His  Holy  Church." 

Some  account  must  be  given  here  of  the  visit  of  St  Cuthbert 
to  the  ancient  Priory  of  Coldingham.  Its  magnificent  remains 
(nowjthe  parish  church)  still  stand  above  the  sea  cliffs,  a  few 
miles  below  Dunbar,  near  St.  Abb's  Head,  which  takes  its 
name  from  Ebba,  the  Saxon  princess  who  founded  it.  She 
was  the  daughter  qf  Ethelfrid  the  Ravager,  and  great  grand- 
daughter of  Ida,  "  the  Man  of  Fire,"  who  founded  the  king- 
dom of  Bernicia.  It  is  first  mentioned  in  history  in  642  A.D., 
and  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  early  Christian 
churches  in  Scotland. 

The  earliest  notice  we  have  of  Ebba's  monastery  from  the 
Venerable  Bede  is  in  his  "  Life  of  St.  Cuthbert."  When 
Cuthbert  was  Provost  of  Mailros,  the  fame  of  his  holiness 
had  reached  Ebba,  "  who  ruled  a  monastery  situated  in  the 
place  which  is  called  the  City  of  Colud,  and  was  esteemed  by 
all  alike  for  her  piety  and  her  nobility.  She  was  the  uterine 
sister  of  King  Oswy.  She  sent  to  Cuthbert  praying  him  to 
visit  her  and  her  community,  that  they  might  profit  by  his 
exhortations.  He  could  not  refuse  to  grant  the  request  of  the 
handmaid  of  God,  so  he  came  to  the  place,  and  remained 
some  days,  setting  forth  the  way  of  righteousness  alike  by  his 
deeds  and  his  words.  It  was  his  wont,  when  all  were  at  rest, 
to  go  out  alone  to  prayer  during  the  night,  and  when 
he  had  thus  passed  the  watches  of  the  night,  to  return  home 
when  the  community  met  for  morning  prayer.  One  night  a 
brother  of  the  monastery  saw  him  going  quietly  out,  and 

B  (17) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

curiosity  tempted  him  to  follow.  Cuthbert  went  down  to  the 
sea,  on  the  margin  of  which  the  monastery  stood,  waded  into 
deep  water  till  the  waves  covered  his  arms  and  reached  his 
neck,  and  passed  the  dark  hours  of  the  night  singing  psalms 
to  the  accompaniment  of  the  melody  of  the  waves.  When 
dawn  approached,  he  came  to  land,  and  bent  his  knees  in 
prayer  on  the  shore.  As  he  was  thus  employed,  two  sea-otters 
came  out  of  the  water,  lay  down  before  him,  and  began  to 
warm  his  feet  with  their  breath,  and  to  wipe  them  with  their 
hair.  Having  rendered  him  this  service,  and  received  his 
blessing,  they  returned  to  their  native  element.  He  then  went 
home,  and  joined  the  brethren  in  the  morning  lauds.  The 
brother  who  had  been  watching  him  was  so  struck  with  terror 
that  he  could  hardly  find  his  way  home.  The  first  thing  he 
did  was  to  prostrate  himself  before  Cuthbert,  and  with  tears 
to  entreat  pardon,  having  no  doubt  that  the  holy  man  knew 
all.  Cuthbert  replied,  '  What  aileth  thee,  my  brother  ?  What 
hast  thou  done?  Hast  thou  been  tracing  my  footsteps  in  my 
night  journey?  On  this  sole  condition  I  pardon  thee,  that, 
as  long  as  I  live,  thou  never  tell  any  one  what  thou  hast  seen.' 
The  brother  promised,  and  kept  his  word;  for  never,  while 
Cuthbert  lived,  did  he  speak  of  the  matter  to  any  one."  Such 
is  Bede's  story. 

After  Coldingham  Priory  had"  been  ruined  by  the  Danes, 
like  almost  every  other  coast  church  in  Scotland,  the  place  lay 
deserted  for  two  centuries,  save  only  for  the  screams  of  the 
sea-fowl,  the  same  to  which  Ebba  and  her  sisters  had  listened ; 
and  the  roll  of  the  North  Sea,  the  old  accompaniment  to  St. 
Cuthbert's  nocturnal  psalm.  After  some  two  centuries  it  was 
rebuilt  as  a  Benedictine  monastery  further  inland,  and  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Cuthbert.  Founded  and  endowed  in  noo  by 
Edgar,  King  of  Scots,  he  gave  it,  as  the  charter  says,  "  To 
God  and  to  St.  Cuthbert,  to  the  church  of  Durham,  and  the 
monks  serving  God,  and  to  them  who  should  hereafter  serve 
Him  in  that  church,  for  ever,  and  for  the  souls  of  his  father 
and  mother,  and  for  the  health  of  his  own  soul  and  body, 
of  his  brothers  and  sisters,  and  for  all  his  ancestors,  and 
successors. ' ' 

Another  incident  is  related  of  St.  Cuthbert's  missionary 
work  and  labours  in  Scotland.  When  journeying,  probably 
near  the  river  Teviot,  accompanied  by  a  boy,  without  any 

(18) 


THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

provisions,  Cuthbert  asked  the  lad,  "  Are  you  thinking  who 
has  prepared  your  dinner  for  you  to-day?"  The  boy  answered 
in  the  affirmative.  "  Be  assured,  my  son,"  said  St.  Cuthbert, 
"  that  the  Lord  will  provide  food  for  those  who  trust  in 
Him,  for  He  has  said,  '  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  His  righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added 
unto  you.'  And  again  in  the  Prophet,  '  I  have  been  young 
and  am  now  old,  yet  saw  I  never  the  righteous  forsaken,  nor 
his  seed  begging  their  bread  ' ;  '  For  the  labourer  is  worthy 
of  his  hire.'  "  He  had  just  spoken  when  an  eagle  came  in 
view  bearing  a  large  fish  caught  from  the  river.  The  lad  ran 
forward  and  brought  the  fish  to  St.  Cuthbert,  who  chided 
him,  saying,  "  Why  did  you  not  give  part  to  our  hungry 
fisherman?"  Then  the  lad  gave  the  eagle  part  of  the  fish, 
and  the  rest  they  took  themselves,  giving  thanks  to  God  for 
His  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercies. 

We  now  reach  a  new  period  of  St.  Cuthbert's  life.  Hav- 
ing spent  many  years  at  Old  Melrose,  and  ruled  it  as  provost 
with  great  ability,  preaching  the  Gospel  in  all  parts  of  the 
east  and  south  of  Scotland,  and  planting  churches  everywhere, 
many  of  which  are  still  dedicated  to  his  memory,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  venerable  and  sacred  establishment  beneath  the 
shadows  of  the  Castle  rock,  St.  Eata,  Prior  of  Old  Melrose, 
thought  it  right  that  St.  Cuthbert  should  be  transferred  from 
the  south  of  Scotland  to  the  north  of  England — from  Old 
Melrose  to  Lindisfarne.  St.  Cuthbert's  influence  can  still  be 
traced  in  Scotland  in  many  ways.  Scores  of  churches  in  the 
east  and  south  of  Scotland  were  dedicated  to  him;  in  almost 
every  Scottish  cathedral  an  altar  stood  to  St.  Cuthbert.  The 
name  of  a  great  county  is  called  after  him — "  Kirkcudbright," 
or  the  "  Kirk  of  Cuthbert,"  and  the  Tweed  valley  and  east 
coast  of  Scotland  are  still  redolent  of  his  memory.  An  honour- 
able perpetuation  of  the  name  and  worth  of  the  great  mission- 
ary is  the  stately  church  recently  restored  in  Edinburgh,  on  the 
site  of  one  which,  as  Skene  believed,  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  doubt,  was  planted  by  St.  Cuthber-t's  own  hands. 

In  Scotland  the  early  Christian,  Celtic,  or  Culdee  Church 
was  vigorous,  powerful,  and  catholic;  and  it  was  not  till  a 
corrupt  age  (the  eleventh  century)  that  the  Church  of  Rome 
stepped  in  and  ousted  the  ancient  branch  of  Christ's  Church 
in  Scotland.  It  may  be  intesesting  to  mention  the  chief  seats 

(19) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

of  this  primitive  Church  in  Scotland  : — Whithorne  ("  Candida 
casa ")  in  Galloway — also  Kirkmadrine  near  it;  Hoddam, 
Jeddart,  Old  Melrose,  Lindisfarne,  Coldingham,  Tyninghame, 
Abercorn,  Edenburg  ("  St.  Cuthbert's  "),  Cathures  (Glasgow's 
ancient  name),  Dumbarton,  Kilpatrick  (near  Glasgow),  Bute, 
Jura,  Himba,  Oronsay,  lona,  Mull,  Tiree,  Eigg,  Lismore, 
Skye,  Applecross,  Dornoch,  Rosmarky,  Deer,  Inverness, 
Monymusk,  Aberdeen,  Abernethy,  Laurencekirk,  Fordun, 
Brechin  (where  a  Celtic  round  tower  stands),  Monifieth, 
Methill,  Strathfillan,  Dunblane,  Kilrymont  (St.  Andrews), 
Lochleven,  Isle  of  May,  Inchcolm,  Inchkeith,  Dunfermline, 
Culross.  These  were  the  chief  of  the  early  seats  of  Chris- 
tianity in  Scotland  ages  before  the  Church  of  Rome  was  known 
in  the  land — and  this  Christianity  was  fostered  and  spread 
by  St.  Columba  and  the  Culdees  and  the  other  leaders  of 
the  Celtic  Church — "  Meek  Eata,  prophetic  Boisil,  austere 
Cuthbert  " — by  St.  Mungo  in  Clydesdale,  and,  in  an  earlier 
age,  by  St.  Ninian  in  the  extreme  south-west  of  Scotland. 

To  resume  St.  Cuthbert's  story.  On  being  transferred 
to  England,  he  was  appointed  Provost  of  Lindisfarne,  "  the 
Holy  Island  of  the  east  coast,"  whose  beacon  fires  answer 
the  holy  isle  of  the  west  coast  in  the  proclamation  of  the  Cross. 
St.  Aidan  had  been  seventeen  years  Bishop  of  Lindisfarne — 
the  chief  seat  and  centre  of  Christianity  for  the  Angles  of 
Bernicia  (a  kingdom  extending  from  the  south-east  of  Scotland 
down  to  the  middle  of  Yorkshire,  on  the  coast,  and  half-way 
inland).  His  successor,  Finan,  built  in  Holy  Island  "  a 
church  worthy  of  the  see,"  but  it  was  only  composed  of  split 
oak  shafts  covered  with  reeds,  a  very  primitive  affair.  This 
was  probably  the  church  to  which  St.  Cuthbert  fell  heir  in 
Lindisfarne,  and  of  which  in  time  he  became  bishop. 

The  island,  according  to  tradition,  was  infested  by  evil 
spirits  before  he  came,  but  "  his  presence  dispelled  them." 
He  dug  a  well  in  the  island,  and  supported  himself  by  his 
own  hands,  preaching  to  the  heathen  inhabitants — "  modest  in 
the  virtue  of  patience  and  affable  to  all  who  came  to  him  for 
comfort."  For  long  St. Cuthbert  was  Bishop  of  Lindisfarne,  and 
from  this  lonely  "  Holy  Isle,"  near  Longstone  island,  famous 
in  later  days  for  its  Grace  Darling,  he  evangelised  the  north 
of  England  with  such  singular  success  that  his  name  is  found 
associated  still  with  scores  of  the  parish  churches  of  North- 

(20) 


THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

umber  land,  Cumberland,  York,  and  Durham,  and  northwards 
as  far  as  Edinburgh,  where,  at  the  foot  of  the  Castle  Rock, 
he  planted  the  earliest  church  in  Dunedin.  As  the  one 
saved  with  her  lifeboat  many  shipwrecked  mariners  on  that 
storm-scourged  coast,  so  the  other  by  the  Ark  of  Christ's 
Church  rescued  multitudes  in  the  northern  kingdom  from  the 
darkness  and  peril  of  heathendom.  That  little  island,  seen 
for  a  moment  from  the  windows  of  the  "  Flying  Scotsman," 
or  from  the  deck  of  a  passing  steamer,  or  by  the  devoted 
pilgrim  from  the  sandy  beaches  of  the  mainland,  stretching 
out  at  low-tide  so  far  that,  as  a  few  years  ago,  a  band  of 
three  thousand  pilgrims  could  wend  their  way  through  the  salt 
pools  and  rippled  sandbanks  almost  dry-shod  to  the  ruined 
church,  which  still  rises  like  a  sentinel  from  the  lonely  group 
of  rocks — that  little  island  must  always  possess  for  the  reverent 
mind  a  singular  charm,  second  only  to  that  of  Holy  lona  on 
the  west  coast  of  Scotland. 

This  Scottish  pioneer  of  Christianity  passed  quietly  away 
to  the  bosom  of  Christ  in  the  year  A.D.  687,  and  his  body  was 
laid  to  rest  in  the  church  which  afterwards  became  Durham 
Cathedral,  where  also  rests  the  Venerable  Bede,  one  of  the 
earliest  translators  of  the  Gospels  into  English,  who  died  liter- 
ally with  the  pen  in  his  hand. 

A  most  romantic  story  attaches  to  the  remains  of  St.  Cuth- 
bert.  During  the  incursions  of  the  Danes  they  were  stolen, 
and  after  many  vicissitudes  and  changes  were  at  last  restored 
to  their  old  resting  place,  where  they  lie  at  this  moment,  behind 
the  altar,  as  the  Venerable  Bede's  dust  sleeps  in  the  Galilee 
Chapel,  at  the  west  end  of  the  Cathedral.  A  special  charm 
was  supposed  to  belong  to  the  communion  cloth  which  St. 
Cuthbert  used,  and  for  centuries  it  was  brought  forth  on  great 
and  momentous  occasions,  and  used  as  a  banner  in  battle. 
When  his  coffin  was  opened  in  1827  to  satisfy  curiosity,  a  small 
Greek  cross  was  lying  on  his  breast,  proving  that  ecclesiasticism 
was  a  less  thing  to  him  than  Christendom,  that  his  sympathies 
were  abroad,  and  that  he  held  communion,  as  we  learn  from 
other  sources,  with  the  Eastern  Church,  and  was  not  a  bigoted 
partisan  of  the  Western. 

It  is  pleasant  to  think  that  Durham  Cathedral,  so  long 
associated  with  a  distinct,  and  yet  a  liberal,  Christianity,  and 
which  mourns  still  the  loss  of  its  Bishop  Lightfoot,  who 

(21) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

combined  both  the  missionary  zeal  of  Cuthbert  and  the  critical 
scholarship  of  Bede,  should  owe  its  existence  and  be  dedicated 
to  the  Scottish  missionary — "  The  Cathedral  Church  of  St. 
Cuthbert,  Durham."  It  is  also  pleasing  to  think  that,  not 
only  during  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  North  of  England  and 
Scotland  were  under  one  episcopal  rule,  till  the  latter  became 
a  separate  Church  with  a  separate  organisation,  but  down  to 
later  times,  even  to  our  own  day,  there  should  be  a  friendly 
and  charitable  relationship  between  two  parts  of  the  island 
which  owe  their  conversion  to  the  same  burning  spirits.  The 
appointment  of  another  Scotsman  to  be  Archbishop  of  York,  and 
of  Dr  Davidson  to  be  Primate  of  all  England — both  brothers 
of  elders  in  the  Church  of  Scotland — will  not  lessen  the  kindly 
feeling  between  the  two  countries  and  Churches. 

In  a  little  volume  of  sacred  poems  on  the  early  Scottish 
missionaries,  published  some  years  ago,  the  writer  has  this 
hymn  opposite  St.  Cuthbert's  name,  written  amid  the  pillared 
calm  and  dim  religious  light  of  Durham  Cathedral  : — 

"What  shrine  can  be  more  glorious 

Than  that  where  Cuthbert  rests  in  peace? 

Beneath  the  altar's  holy  shade 
He  waiteth  for  his  full  release, 

Until  through  vault  and  aisle  shall  ring 

The  final  summons  of  the  King. 

"  Grand  place  of  rest  for  him  who  spent 

His  days  the  soul  of  man  to  save, —    . 
On  rugged  moor,  on  lonely  isle 

Where  wild  birds  soar  above  the  wave, 
Strange  Patmos,  where,  far  o'er  the  sea, 
Float  echoes  from  eternity. 

"  What  worship  should  be  ours,  what  prayers, 

What  praises  and  what  triumph  high, 
Where  towards  the  east  sleeps  Cuthbert  blest, 

Where  at  the  west  St.  Bede  doth  lie ; 
O  sure  a  guard  of  angels  bright 
Must  keep  the  shrines  of  saints  in  light. 

"  But  chiefest,  Lord,  we  praise  Thy  name, 

Who  show'dst  Thy  saint  the  glorious  road, 
And  planted  him  within  Thy  fold — 

'  None  other  than  the  House  of  God.' 
And  thus  most  blest,  to  him  was  given, 
To  find  it  too  '  the  gate  of  heaven.' 

"And  now  what  recks  he  of  the  storms 

That  broke  upon  the  lonely  isle? 
What  recks  he  of  temptation  fierce, 

Of  trials  sore  and  fears  meanwhile? 
Now  round  him  spread  the  waters  still, 
The  pastures  'neath  the  Holy  Hill. 

(22) 


THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

"  Full  soon  shall  shine  the  glassy  sea 

Upon  those  saintly  eyes  that  sleep ; 
Full  soon  the  victor's  harp-notes  clear 

Across  its  crystal  depths  shall  sweep ; 
Full  soon  :   now  peacefully  they  wait 
Their  summons  through  the  golden  gate  !" 

The  grandest  monument  to  St.  Cuthbert  in  Great  Britain 
is  this  stately,  glorious  Cathedral  of  St.  Cuthbert's,  Durham, 
occupying  the  summit  of  a  peninsula,  overlooking  the  River 
Wear  on  the  east  and  on  the  west,  with  rapid  declivities  reach- 
ing down  to  the  river,  and  covered  over  with  hanging  v;oods 
and  gardens;  its  great  central  tower,  212  feet  high,  and  the 
two  western  towers,  143  each;  its  length  420  feet,  and  its 
glory  such  that  only  York  and  Westminster  excel  it.  The 
seeds  of  this  magnificent  structure  were  laid  there  by  the  great 
Scottish  saint  who  evangelised  both  northern  England  and 
southern  Scotland — and  there  is  a  delightful  appropriateness 
in  the  fact  that  his  ashes  rest  under  these  stately  cathedral 
towers,  arches,  and  pinnacles,  along  with  the  ashes  of  the 
Venerable  Bede,  with  the  words  of  whose  translated  Gospel 
of  St.  John,  Cuthbert  had  in  his  early  career  comforted  the 
dying  spirit  of  St.  Boisil,  his  master,  at  Old  Melrose.  There 
is  also  a  delightful  appropriateness  in  the  fact  that  probably  the 
finest  panegyric  on  St.  Cuthbert  was  written  by  one  of  his 
successors — the  lamented  Bishop  Lightfoot  of  Durham,  whom 
the  Christian  world  still  mourns.  "  What  was  it,"  said  the 
scholarly  Bishop  of  Durham  of  our  day,  "  that  won  for  Cuth- 
bert the  ascendency  and  fame  which  no  churchman  north  of 
the  Humber  has  surpassed  or  even  rivalled?  He  was  not  a 
great  writer  like  Bede ;  he  was  not  a  great  preacher  like  Aidan ; 
he  founded  no  famous  institution;  he  erected  no  magnificent 
building ;  he  was  not  martyred  for  his  faith  or  for  his  Church. 
His  Episcopate  was  exceptionally  short  (two  years)  and  undis- 
tinguished by  any  event  of  signal  importance.  Wherein,  then, 
this  transcendent  position  which  he  long  occupied,  and  still 
to  a  certain  measure  maintains?  He  owed  something,  doubt- 
less, to  what  men  call  accident.  He  was  on  the  winning  side 
in  the  controversy  between  the  Roman  and  English  observances 
of  Easter.  Moreover  the  strange  vicissitudes  which  attended 
his  dead  body  served  to  emphasise  the  man  in  a  remarkable 
way.  But  these  are  only  the  buttresses  of  a  great  reputation. 
The  foundation  of  the  reverence  entertained  for  Cuthbert  must 
be  sought  elsewhere.  Shall  we  not  say  that  the  secret  of  his 

(23) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

influence  was  this :— The  '  I  '  and  '  Not  I  '  of  St.  Paul's  great 
antithesis  were  strangely  marked  in  him?  There  was  an 
earnest,  deeply  sympathetic  nature  in  the  man  himself ;  and 
this  strong  personality  was  purified,  was  heightened,  was  sancti- 
fied by  the  communion  with,  the  indwelling  of,  Christ.  His 
deeply  sympathetic  spirit  breathes  through  all  the  notices  of 
him.  It  was  this  which  attracted  men  to  him;  it  was  this 
which  unlocked  men's  hearts  to  him.  We  are  told  that  he 
had  a  wonderful  power  of  adapting  his  instructions  to  the 
special  needs  of  the  persons  addressed.  He  always  knew 
what  to  say,  to  whom,  when  and  how  to  say  it.  This  faculty 
of  reading  men's  hearts,  sympathy  alone  can  give;  and  Cuth- 
bert's  overflowed,  even  to  dumb  animals.  The  seafowl  which 
bear  his  name  (the  eider-duck,  called  '  St.  Cuthbert's  duck,' 
which  breeds  on  the  Fame  Islands)  were  his  special  favourites. 
[When  the  saint's  tomb  was  opened  in  1827,  figures  of  these 
birds  were  found  worked  in  cloth  of  gold  on  the  episcopal 
vestments  which  wrapped  his  body.]  Other  tales,  too,  are 
told — perhaps  not  altogether  legendary — which  testify  to  his 
sympathy  with,  and  power  over,  the  lower  creation.  We  are 
reminded  by  these  traits  of  other  saintly  persons  of  deeply 
sympathetic  nature — of  Hugh  of  Lincoln' followed  by  his  tame 
swan;  of  Anselm  protecting  the  leveret;  of  Francis  of  Assissi 
conversing  familiarly  with  the  fowls  of  the  air  and  the  beasts 
of  the  field,  as  with  brothers  and  sisters.  But  if  the  '  I  '  was 
thus  strong  and  deep,  the  '  Not  I  '  was  not  less  marked. 
'  Not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me.'  His  fervour  at  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Holy  Sacrament  manifested  itself  even  to  tears. 
'  He  imitated,'  says  Bede,  '  the  Lord's  Passion,  which  he 
commemorated,  by  offering  himself  a  sacrifice  to  God  in  con- 
trition of  heart.'  He  died  with  Christ  that  he  might  live  with 
Christ." 

This  Old  Melrose  seems  to  have  been  the  original  home 
of  Christian  influence  in  the  south  of  Scotland.  The  present 
village  of  Old  Melrose  is  full  of  carved  stones  and  ecclesi- 
astical relics  of  this  once  world-famous  seat  of  Christianity. 
This  Old  Melrose  became  a  Cistercian  foundation  under 
David  I.,  that  "  sair  sanct  for  a  croon,"  who  raised  churches 
and  abbeys  everywhere.  Wyntoun,  the  famous  Scottish 
chronicler  who  says  that  "  Scotland  always  loved  a  way  of  her 
own,"  says  of  King  David  : — 

(24) 


THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

"  He  illumynyd  in  his  dayis 
His  landys  wyth  kyrkys  and  wyth  abbayis. 
Abbays  he  founddit  nyne  or  ten, 
And  set  in  thame  relygyws  men." 

In  Old  Melrose  the  chief  names  of  Abbots  were  St.  Eata, 
a  disciple  of  St.  Aidan,  Abbot  of  Lindisfarne,  consecrated  to 
Hexham  in  685 ;  St.  Odunald,  who  had  a  vision  of  an  angel 
comforting  him  on  his  death-bed ;  St.  Ethelwald,  a  disciple 
of  St.  Cuthbert  (696),  who  in  724  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Lindisfarne;  St.  Theynan,  counsellor  to  King  Eugenius  VI., 
who  died  on  September  26th,  but  the  year  is  not  stated;  and 
somewhere  after  1000  A.D.,  William  Douglas,  confessor  to 
Malcolm  III.,  who  built  the  Abbey  cloister. 

The  great  and  beautiful  New  Melrose  Abbey,  founded 
by  David  I.,  some  three  miles  further  up  the  Tweed,  for  the 
vigorous  and  popular  Cistercian  Order,  on  April  ist,  1136,  has 
become  famous  as  the  mother-house  of  Balmerino,  Cupar, 
Kinloss,  Mauchline,  Newbottle,  and  other  Cistercian  seats, 
but  the  wizard  wand  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  has  invested  it  with 
a  charm  and  attraction  of  which,  compared  with  the  beautiful 
and  wonderful  Cistercian  houses  of  Kirkstall,  Fountains, 
Rievaulx,  and  others,  it  is  quite  unworthy.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  Melrose  is  the  parent  seat  of  the  Cistercian 
houses  of  Scotland,  and  that  New  Melrose  Abbey,  founded  in 
1136,  having  become  too  full,  the  fathers  overflowed,  and, 
headed  by  one  Ralph,  a  person  of  beautiful  presence,  travelled 
up  the  Gala  Water  and  through  the  Borthwick  valley,  and  at 
last  settled  down  in  the  Newbottle  valley — on  the  Esk  shore, 
so  reminiscent  of  the  original  home  on  Tweedside,  with  the 
silvery  river  and  soft  rolling  hills  and  genial  climate.  Melrose 
and  Newbattle  in  all  these  respects  are  practically  identical.  It 
has  been  said  that  the  Newbattle  Cistercians  came  not  from 
Old  Melrose  (the  Eldbottle  some  three  miles  down  the  Tweed 
from  Melrose  Abbey),  but  from  Eldbottle  on  the  east  coast 
near  Dirleton.  The  Cistercians  had  a  house  at  Gullane,  the 
beautiful  remains  of  which  are  still  standing  ivy-clad  as  you 
enter  beautiful  Dirleton  village,  and  this  bore  the  name  of 
Elbotil  or  Eldbotel  (the  old  dwelling),  and  was  dedicated  to 
Ss.  Mary  and  Nicholas.  It  was  a  cell  from  North  Berwick, 
and  was  founded  by  David  I.,  who  also  founded  the  abbey  here. 
Two  things  seem  to  militate  against  the'  view  that  the  Cistercian 
fathers  of  Newbottle  came  from  this  Eldbottle,  namely,  first, 

(25) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

that  the  two  houses  were  founded  by  the  same  sovereign, 
David  I.,  about  the  same  time,  so  that  the  one  was  about  as 
old  as  the  other;  and  secondly,  the  Eldbottle  at  Gullane  was 
not  a  house  for  men  at  all,  but  for  the  white-robed  Cistercian 
nuns,  who  had  houses  also  at  Coldstream,  Haddington  (St. 
Mary's  in  Nungate),  Eccles,  Muiravonside,  and  elsewhere  in 
Scotland.  The  Cistercian  settlement  at  Old  Melrose  was  of  a 
much  earlier  date,  and  was  intimately  associated  with  the  early 
Christian  missionaries  like  St.  Cuthbert,  St.  Aidan,  and  St. 
Boisil  (whose  name  appears  in  the  modern  "  St.  Boswell's  "). 
This  old  Christian  settlement,  the  home  of  St.  Cuthbert  and 
St.  Boisil,  St.  Odunald,  St.  Ethelwald,  St.  Theynan,  and 
the  other  Christian  missionaries  of  the  seventh  century,  "almost 
enclosed  by  the  windings  of  the  Tweed,"  at  what  is  now  called 
Old  Melrose,  was  colonised  from  Lindisfarne  in  854,  and  was 
the  mother  of  New  Melrose  Abbey,  founded  in  1136,  and  of 
Newbattle,  founded  in  1141.  That  at  any  rate  is  the  final 
verdict  of  Mr  Cosmo  Innes  in  his  admirable  preface  to  the 
Newbattle  Chartulary,  published  by  the  Bannatyne  Club 
(1848),  under  the  guidance  of  the  learned  and  accurate  Dr 
David  Laing. 

The  great  and  beautiful  Cistercian  foundation  at  New 
Melrose,  every  arch  and  pillar  of  which  has  been  lined  out 
in  gold  by  the  magic  pencil  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  was  really 
the  mother  house  of  all  the  Cistercian  houses  in  Scotland,  of 
some  of  which  a  cursory  notice  may  be  given. 

The  Abbey  of  Balmerino  in  Fife  was  one  of  the  earliest 
Cistercian  houses  to  be  founded  from  Melrose,  and  was  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Mary  and  Edward  the  Confessor.  It  stood  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Firth  of  Tay,  and  commanded  a  beautiful 
view  of  the  Firth  and  of  the  Carse  of  Cowrie.  A  few  ruins 
still  remain  of  this  once-famous  establishment. 

Probably  somewhere  about  1142  a  band  of  Cistercian 
fathers  came  up  from  the  rich  and  beautiful  Abbey  of  Rievaulx 
in  North  England,  and  settled  at  Dundrennan.  Newbattle 
was  an  offshoot  from  Melrose  in  1140  or  1141.  In  1164 
another  band  of  monks  from  Melrose  crossed  the  Firth  of 
Forth  and  settled  down  at  Cupar  in  Fife  [Cupar- Angus],  where 
King  Malcolm  the  Maiden  gave  them  his  patronage  and  aid, 
as  he  also  did  at  the  very  same  time  to  Manuel  and  Soutra. 
The  church  stood  within  a  Roman  Camp,  and  some  few  traces 
of  it  are  still  in  evidence. 

(26) 


'THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Dundrennan  in  Galloway,  near  the  Solway  Firth,  was 
founded  in  1142  from  Rievaulx  by  David  I.,  who  also  founded 
Newbottle.  While  all  the  Orders  had  his  royal  patronage, 
the  Cistercians  were  specially  favoured  by  him.  The  remains 
of  Dundrennan  are  extensive,  and  rich  from  an  architectural 
point  of  view.  The  beautiful  ruined  pile  rises  up  on  the 
bank  of  a  rocky,  sparkling  burn,  surrounded  by  hills,  and 
over  the  walls  there  has  gathered  a  beautiful  pale  grey  moss. 
It  was  within  these  walls  that  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  spent  her 
last  night  on  Scottish  soil.  No  less  than  two  Abbots  of 
Rievaulx  became  Abbots  of  Dundrennan,  one  of  them  Silvanus 
(1167),  having,  it  is  believed,  when  a  monk  at  Melrose,  com- 
posed the  earlier  part  of  the  famous  chronicle  bearing  his 
name. 

Kynlos,  or  Kynflos,  was  founded  on  i3th  May,  1156, 
from  Melrose.  This  beautiful  sanctuary  near  Elgin  was  a 
mitred  Abbey,  and  received  its  name  from  the  miraculous 
flowers  which  blossomed  near  the  place  where  the  body  of 
King  Duffus  lay  hidden.  Boece  says  the  house  was  famous 
for  the  splendour  of  its  buildings,  which  were  so  massive  as 
almost  to  suggest  fortifications,  as  well  as  for  the  exemplary- 
lives  of  the  inmates.  The  stones  were  largely  used  in  1652 
to  build  the  citadel  of  Inverness.  King  Edward  was  at 
Kynloss  in  1361,  and  kept  Christmas  there.  One  of  its  abbots, 
Nerins,  who  previously  was  Abbot  of  Melrose,  was  invoked  as 
a  saint  by  pilgrims  and  travellers  because  he  restored  to  life 
two  men  who  were  killed  on  their  pilgrimage  to  some  holy 
place.  A  branch  house  was  started  at  Deir  by  the  fathers  in 
1219  by  Abbot  Ralph,  who  had  the  vision  of  the  huge 
"  JEthiop  passing  through  a  closed  window  and  smelling  with 
delight  the  breaths  of  the  sleeping  abbots  who  were  attending 
a  general  council,  and  through  the  inadvertence  of  the  cook 
had  eaten  broth  into  which  some  fragments  of  meat  had  been 
strained.'3  In  1274  the  Prior  of  Newbottle  was  made  Abbot. 
Thomas  Chrystal,  Abbot  in  1530,  was  a  munificent  benefactor 
of  the  house,  and  gave  many  vestments  and  ornaments,  as 
well  as  adding  to  the  conventual  library  a  number  of  French 
books,  a  Bible  in  six  volumes  with  glosses,  Chronicles  of 
Antony,  St.  Jerome's  Epistles,  the  writings  of  St.  Augustine, 
St.  Ambrose,  St.  Chrysostom,  St.  Gregory,  St.  Bernard,  the 
sentences  in  the  Canon  law. 

(27) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

The  Cistercian  house  of  Deir  was  an  offshoot  from  Kynlos, 
as  Newbattle  was  of  Melrose.  It  was  founded  in  1200  by 
the  Earl  of  Buchan.  Deir  is  more  intimately  associated  with 
the  earlier  Culdee  Church,  for  St.  Columba  called  the  primitive 
religious  home  there  "  the  Monastery  of  Tears,"  because  of 
his  sorrowful  parting  with  St.  Drostan.  James  VI.,  after 
the  Reformation,  gave  the  sacred  site  to  the  Earl  Marischal 
Keith,  but  his  wife  besought  her  lord  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  sacrilege.  The  striking  legend  of  the  House  of  Deir 
tells  the  tale  of  how  the  sacrilege  was  avenged.  The  Countess 
dreamt  that  she  saw  a  vast  crowd  of  white-robed  monks  sur- 
round the  huge  crag  on  which  their  house,  Dunnottar  Castle, 
stood,  and  cut  it  up  with  their  monastic  knives.  In  her  dream 
she  ran  to  her  husband  to  stay  the  destroying  mob  of  white 
religious,  but  when  she  returned  from  her  search  she  saw  to 
her  dismay  that  the  rock  over  the  German  Ocean  had  fallen, 
carrying  the  castle  with  it,  and  a  few  fragments  tossing  on 
the  waves  of  the  sea,  which  makes  the  Bullers  of  Buchan 
sound.  The  sacrilege  received  its  reward  in  1715,  when  the 
noble  family  fell.  One  Abbot  gave  his  office  up  and  returned 
to  Melrose,  preferring  the  sweet,  green  Tweedside  sanctuary 
to  "  that  poor  cottage  of  the  monks  of  Deir."  Robert  Keith, 
the  Abbot  in  1543,  died  in  Paris;  while  the  Prior,  who  was 
a  distinguished  mathematician,  and  regarded  as  a  magician, 
died  in  1567,  and  was  buried  at  Roslin. 

Glenluce — "the  vale  of  light" — in  Galloway,  was  founded 
on  February  i6th,  1192,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  of  Luce, 
by  Rothland  de  Galloway,  Constable  of  Scotland,  and  colon- 
ised from  Melrose  or  Dundrennan.  Michael  Scott,  the 
magician,  who  cleaved  the  Eildon  Hills  into  three  peaks,  lies 
buried  with  his  magic  books  among  the  walls,  and  tradition 
says  that  some  one  who  disinterred  his  skeleton  found  it  in  a 
sitting  posture,  and  the  sight  drove  him  mad. 

On  St.  Matthew's  Day,  1217,  the  Cistercian  Abbey  of 
Culross  was  founded,  dedicated  to  Sts.  Mary,  Andrew,  and 
Serf,  on  "  the  back  of  the  peninsula,"  commanding  a  fine 
view  of  the  Firth.  St.  Thenaw,  mother  of  St.  Mungo,  had 
been  driven  thither  from  her  father's  home  underneath  the 
shadow  of  Traprain  Law.  King  Loth,  who  gives  his  name 
to  the  Lothians,  banished  his  daughter  Thenaw  (whose  name 
still  appears  in  St.  Enoch's  Station  in  Glasgow),  and  her  son 

(28) 


THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

was  born  at  Culross,  which  in  after  centuries  had  the  prescrip- 
tive right  to  forge  girdles  for  Scotland.  St.  Servanus,  or  St. 
Serf,  had  so  strong  an  influence  over  Culross  that  on  every 
first  of  July,  long  after  the  Reformation,  the  people  walked 
in  procession  through  the  town,  carrying  green  boughs,  early 
in  the  morning,  in  memory  of  St.  Serf.  Culross  Abbey, 
which  is  now  being  restored,  was  colonised  by  Kynloss,  and 
to-day  is  an  imposing  and  beautiful  ecclesiastical  edifice. 

The  lonely  Cistercian  Abbey  of  Sandal,  or  Saggadil, 
stands  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Cantire,  and  very  few  remains 
of  the  establishment  exist.  Founded  by  Reginald,  son  of 
Somerled,  King  of  the  Isles  and  Lord  of  Argyle,  in  1220, 
and  colonised  from  Rushen,  it  was  raided  in  1263  by  Haco 
of  Norway.  The  church  measured  136  by  24  feet,  and  the 
transept  78  by  24  feet.  The  dormitories,  study,  and  cloister 
garth  can  still  be  traced.  James  IV.  in  1507  annexed  the 
abbey  to  the  Bishopric  of  Argyll. 

Sweetheart  or  New  Abbey,  seven  miles  from  Dumfries, 
was  founded  in  1275  by  Devorgilla,  daughter  of  Alan  de 
Galloway,  in  the  valley  of  the  Nith,  almost  at  the  foot  of 
Criffell.  Melrose  contains  the  heart  of  Bruce,  Rouen  Cath- 
edral the  heart  of  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion,  Shelley's  heart 
after  burning  remained  whole,  and  Devorgilla  took  the  em- 
balmed heart  of  her  husband,  John  de  Balliol,  and  having 
shrined  it  in  silver  and  ivory,  placed  it  in  an  aumbry  near 
the  altar.  At  first  the  Abbey  was  founded  on  Loch  Kender 
— ' '  Sweetheart ' ' — but  on  removal  to  the  site  in  the  Nith  valley 
the  name  was  changed  to  New  Abbey.  The  Abbey  has  a 
saddle-back  tower  as  usual,  and  a  crow-stepped  gable.  The 
cellarage  and  chapter-house  also  remain.  The  arms  were  two 
pastoral  staffs  in  saltire  :  in  chief  a  heart :  and  the  motto — 
"  Choose  time  of  need."  Abbot  John  made  submission  to 
Edward  I.  Sweetheart  or  New  Abbey  seems  to  have  been 
colonised  originally  from  Dundrennan. 

There  were  also  several  Cistercian  priories  under  the  same 
rule  and  order.  Friar's  Carse  (meaning  "  a  watered  plain") 
was  a  cell  from  Melrose,  and  was  granted  by  the  last  com- 
mendator  to  the  Laird  of  Ellisland,  a  district  made  famous 
for  ever  through  the  trials  and  struggles  of  Robert  Burns. 

Hassendean  or  Hassingdean  was  another  cell  from  Mel- 
rose, where  was  a  beautiful  Norman  church.  Mauchline  in 

(29) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Ayrshire,  nine  miles  from  Kilmarnock,  was  also  a  cell  from 
Melrose,  founded  by  the  Stewarts  and  David  I.  in  1165. 
There  are  no  traces  left  of  it,  and  tradition  says  that  it  was 
dedicated  to  Sts.  Mary  and  Cuthbert.  There  was  also  a 
peculiar  order  of  "  Val  de  Choux  "  founded  in  1193  at  Val 
de  Choux  in  Burgundy,  and  brought  to  Scotland  in  1230  by 
the  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  W.  Malvoisin.  It  was  a  very 
strict  order,  and  between  worship,  work,  and  self-abnegation, 
the  whole  twenty-four  hours  were  amply  employed.  "  Sack- 
cloth was  worn  next  the  flesh,  and  over  it  a  thick  woollen 
habit;  at  night  a  tunic  with  a  girdle,  a  cowl  and  boots.  No 
bolsters  were  allowed.  From  Matins  until  the  working  hours, 
and  from  Vespers  to  sunset,  reading,  prayer,  and  meditation 
were  to  occupy  all  the  time." 

Another  Priory  was  Ardchattan — St.  John  the  Baptist's — 
on  the  shore  of  Loch  Etive,  near  Connell  Ferry,  and  within 
sight  of  the  mysterious  Falls  of  Lora.  A  very  fair  amount 
of  the  old  establishment  remains,  and  is  well  preserved.  Robert 
Bruce  held  a  Parliament  here,  and  Gaelic  was  spoken  on  the 
occasion. 

Beauly  or  Beaulieu,  ten  miles  from  Inverness,  was  another 
Cistercian  Priory,  and  extensive  remains  still  exist.  It  was 
founded  in  1232,  and  the  church  to-day  is  surrounded  by 
venerable  elms  and  rich  historic  memories.  Oliver  Cromwell 
made  it  a  quarry  for  a  fort  at  Inverness. 

Pluscardine  ("  the  hollow  in  the  hills ")  was  founded. 
in  1230,  in  Morayshire,  six  miles  from  Elgin,  by  King  Alex- 
ander II.,  and  was  colonised  direct  from  "  Col  de  Choux." 
It  is  still  a  beautiful  seat  of  worship,  and  full  of  richest 
reminiscence. 

The  Cistercian  Order,  in  addition  to  these  various  mon- 
asteries and  priories,  had  about  a  dozen  houses  for  women — 
white  nuns.  At  Coldstream  the  house  of  St.  Mary  in  the 
Merse,  founded  by  Cospatrick,  Earl  of  March,  was  famous, 
more  especially  through  the  royal  residence  of  Queen  Margaret 
in  1515.  In  Edinburgh,  St.  Mary's  in  St.  Mary's  Wynd, 
founded  in  the  twelfth  century,  was  famous.  Marion  Clark 
in  1530  was  drowned1  in  the  "  Quarrel  Holes,"  close  by, 
because  she  concealed  the  fact  that  she  was  plague-stricken. 

Eccles,  in  Berwick,  founded  by  the  Countess  of  March  in 
1155,  is  still  traceable.  Elbotil  ("the  old  dwelling"),  Sts. 

(30) 


THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Mary  and  Nicholas,  in  Dirleton,  was  founded  by  King  David 
for  Cistercian  nuns.  Elcho,  in  Strathearn,  was  founded  by 
David  Lindsay  of  Glenesk,  who  went  to  the  Crusades  with 
St.  Louis  and  his  mother.  The  Earl  of  Ross  in  1346  assas- 
sinated Reginald  of  the  Isles  in  Eccles  Monastery. 

Manuel  is  well-known  as  a  station  on  the  North  British 
Railway,  which  traverses  very  much  the  old  Roman  (Antonine) 
wall  between  the  Clyde  and  Forth.  The  proper  name  of  the 
place  is  Emmanuel — St.  Mary's  Emmanuel,  in  Muiravonside, 
near  Linlithgow,  and  was  founded  by  King  Malcolm  IV.  the 
Maiden,  for  ladies  of  rank.  The  west  end  of  the  nave  remains. 
In  1788  the  south  walls  were  swept  away  by  a  flood.  Em- 
manuel finally  became  "  Manuel,"  and  was  erected  into  a 
lordship  for  the  Earl  of  Linlithgow. 

Gullane  is  famous  now  more  for  its  golf  than  its  monas- 
teries, and  yet  the  beautiful  ruin  of  St.  Mary's,  at  the  entrance 
to  Gullane,  commemorates  the  ancient  Cistercian  house  of 
sisters  who  lived  and  served  and  prayed  there.  It  was  a  cell 
of  South  Berwick,  and  was  founded  by  King  David,  as 
Newbattle  was. 

Haddington  had  its  Cistercian  convent  of  nuns — St.  Mary, 
Nungate,  founded  by  the  mother  of  King  Malcolm  IV. — 
Ada,  Countess  of  Huntingdon.  At  the  dissolution  there  were 
eighteen  nuns.  The  village  of  Garvald,  built  round  the 
conventual  grange,  had  a  peel  tower,  and  was  called  Nun- 
row. 

Halystan,  St.  Leonard's,  near  Berwick,  was  another 
Cistercian  nunnery,  in  which  Edward  III.  erected  an  altar 
to  St.  Margaret  after  the  victory  of  Halidon  Hill.  St. 
Leonard's,  Perth — a  hospital  and  priory — was  also  a  Cistercian 
house.  South  Berwick  convent  was  founded  by  King  David  I., 
and  was  suppressed  by  King  Robert  III.,  as  it  was  loyal  to 
England,  in  1391.  St.  Bothan's,  in  the  Lammermoor  Hills 
in  Berwickshire,  was  another,  —  a  cell  from  South  Berwick, 
and  dedicated  to  St.  Bothan,  who  was  a  cousin  of  St. 
Columba.  A  mile  away  from  St.  Bothan's  the  convent 
of  Trefontanez,  or  the  three  fountains,  stood — founded  by 
David  I.,  and  a  cell  of  South  Berwick,  the  lands  of  which 
were  in  1436  given  to  Dryburgh  Abbey. 

In  lona  there  was  a  Cistercian  convent,  where  the  white- 
robed  missionaries  prayed  and  laboured,  and  were  a  source 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

of  Christian  influence  and  blessing  to  the  islands  and  lands 
all  around.  The  "  lona  Press,"  under  skilful  and  patriotic 
guidance,  has  produced  many  beautiful  works — the  results  of 
native  effort,  regarding  the  Columban  Church  and  missionary 
labour.  One  lona  hymn  sung  by  the  children  in  Gaelic  may 
be  translated  as  showing  the  simple  spirit  of  the  sacred  island 
and  its  aspirations  : — 

"We  infants,   feeble  and  mild,   are  gathered, 
We  come  to  seek  knowledge  of  Thee ; 
In  the  morning  of  our  day, 
O  Father  of  Mercy, 

Whose  magnificence  knows  no  bounds, 
Look  Thou  down  in  kindness 
On  the  babes  of  lona. 

In  the  days  of  St  Columba 

This  was  the  happy  isle  : 

It  was  reputed  for  its  learning, 

As  the  learned  do  aver  : 

O  Father  of  Mercies, 

Still  in  Thy  infinite  dignity, 

Look  down  in  kindness 

On  the  babes  of  lona. 

Though  humble  our  dwellings, 
'Mid  hills  and  'mid  glens; 
Thine  Own  Son  was  in  trouble, 
Without  rest  for  His  head  : 
For  His  sake  O  may  Thou, 
In  Thy  infinite  dignity, 
Still  in  kindness  look  down 
On  the  babes  of  lona." 

In  beautiful  Lochawe,  with  its  many  islands,  like  Loch 
Lomond,  and  its  wonderful  play  of  sunshine  and  shadow,  the 
lovely  green  island  of  Innishail, — "  Holy  Island,"  rests  in 
the  centre,  under  the  shadow  of  Ben  Cruachan,  and  before 
the  gloomy  Pass  of  Brander  is  reached, — one  of  the  old  resting- 
places  of  the  Cistercian  nuns  in  the  Highlands.  The  whole 
place  is  redolent  of  interest  and  piety.  St.  Conan  drove  the 
dragon  from  the  district,  and  Bera  the  fairy  huntress  of  the 
hills  which  gather  round  Ben  Cruachan,  throws  her  poetic 
charm  over  the  place.  The  sweet,  green  island  stands  as  the 
witness  of  Christian  faith  and  hope  and  love  amid  the  dark 
frowning  glories  of  Cruachan  and  Brander,  and  speaks  of 
peace  and  joy  and  gladness. 

Restful  and  green  the  Holy  Isle 
Sleeps  in  the  summer  sunshine  smile ; 
A  guard  of  firs  close  gathered  stands 
Above  the  rippled  rocky  strands. 

(32) 


THE  CISTERCIANS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

And  the  ruined  walls  of  the  abbey  gray, 
Where  the  holy  nuns  spent  many  a  day 
Of  prayer  and  praise,  rise  there  alone, 
Though  the  Cistercian  robes  are  flown. 

The  gray  old  cross  of  lona  stands, 

And  still  lifts  up  its  time-worn  hands ; 

And  the  sculptured  stones  with  their  figures  quaint 

Lie,  covering  many  an  unknown  saint. 

Three  knights  in  armour  carved  lie  still, 
And  sleep  their  long  sleep  in  that  holy  hill. 

Sweet  Innishail  !  a  fragrance  sweet 
Lingers  around   thy  mercy  seat, 
Where  piety  for  ages  dwelt, 
And  drew  to  Christ  the  untutored  Celt. 

And  if  the  world  in  time  to  come 
Shall  doubt — and  e'en  with  boldness  some 
Shall   sneer   at   Christ,   and   never   quail — 
An  answer  comes  from  Innishail. 

For  here  with  nought  to  cheer  or  bless, 
No  homely  ties  or  tenderness, 
Sweet  lives  were  spent  which  found  all  loss 
Save  what  had  glory  from  the  Cross. 

The  charming  island  of  Innishail  still  contains  in  its 
limited  area  the  ruins  of  the  Cistercian  convent,  with  some  three 
fine  lona.  crosses.  It  was  here  that  Philip  Gilbert  Hamerton, 
the  artist-poet,  set  up  his  home,  living  largely  under  glass 
in  a  conservatory-house  built  by  himself,  with  his  young 
French  wife,  watching  the  wonderful  play  of  light  and  shadow 
on  the  hills  and  moors  and  waters  of  Lochawe.  Many  years 
earlier,  Duncan  Ban  Macintyre,  whose  cenotaph  overlooks 
Lochawe  at  the  Kilchurn  Castle  end,  sang  in  Gaelic  of  the 
inspiration  of  the  place  where  the  white-robed  Cistercians  sang 
their  lay.  To-day  a  Cistercian  house  stands  at  Jaffa,  where, 
at  the  end  of  the  Mediterranean,  after  fifteen  hundred  miles 
of  journey,  the  pilgrim  lands  in  surf  and  confusion,  and  is 
welcomed  by  the  white- robed  brothers.  It  is  a  far  cry  to 
Lochawe,  but  it  is  a  farther  cry  to  Jaffa ;  but  in  both  places 
the  white-robed  Cistercians  were  to  be  seen,  and  at  Jaffa  or 
Joppa  are  to  be  met  still.  Such  was  the  influence  of  the  Order 
which  made  its  aim  nearness  to  God,  likeness  to  Christ,  and 
service  to  man. 


(33) 


III. 

THE  ABBEY  OF  5T.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

BOTH  St.  Benedict  and  St.  Bernard  sought  as  sites  for 
their  monasteries  spots  withdrawn  from  the  haunts 
of  men.  But  they  differed  in  the  character  of  the 
localities  which  they  affected.  The  great  Benedic- 
tine monastery  crowns  the  summit  of  an  Italian  Rigi 
— Monte  Cassino — for  St.  Benedict  loved  heights  and  towers 
that  rose  to  heaven,  whence  a  wide  prospect  could  be  com- 
manded. The  writer  has  more  than  once  been  profoundly 
impressed  by  the  spacious  majesty  and  reposeful  splendour 
of  Monte  Cassino.  St.  Bernard,  on  the  other  hand,  preferred 
valleys  girt  round  with  trees  and  woodland  and  pleasant  meads 
and  streams.  All  Cistercian  Abbeys  are  thus  situated,  and 
Newbattle  was  an  ideal  spot  for  a  house  of  the  white-robed 
fathers.  "  The  Abbey,"  says  Mr  Cosmo  Innes,  "  was  not 
placed  so  as  to  command  a  prospect.  It  lies  where  the  South 
Esk,  escaped  from  the  green  hills  of  Temple  and  the  woody 
ravines  of  Dalhousie,  widens  its  valley  to  give  room  for  a 
long  range  of  fair  level  haughs.  At  the  very  head  of  these 
meadows,  and  close  to  the  brook,  the  Abbey  stands.  Behind, 
to  the  north  are  the  remains  of  the  ancient  monastic  village, 
once  occupied  by  the  hinds  and  shepherds  of  the  convent,  but 
separated  from  the  Abbey  gardens  by  a  massive  stone  wall 
ascribed  to  the  time  and  personal  care  of  William  the  Lion 
(1165-1214),  which  still  forms  the  boundary  of  the  park  on 
that  side.  The  river  banks  have  probably  always  been  covered 
with  a  growth  of  native  oak.  What  was  the  clothing  of  the 
level  lawn  of  old  we  can  only  conjecture.  As  it  is,  situated 
at  the  bottom  of  its  narrow  valley,  close  by  the  brook,  hidden 
among  beeches  and  venerable  sycamores,  it  gives  an  idea  of 
religious  seclusion  such  as  St.  Bernard  sought  at  Citeaux." 
The  South  Esk  has  its  rise  in  the  beautiful  glen  of  Powbate 

(34) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

or  Bowbate,  in  the  Moorfoot  Hills,  some  ten  miles  up  country. 
In  course  of  time  the  Newbattle  fathers  came  into  possession 
of  this  charming  hill-country,  with  its  green  rolling  mountains 
rising  to  a  height  of  some  twelve  hundred  feet,  and  built  a 
convent  and  chapel,  which  they  called  Morthwaite  or  Moor- 
foot,  the  remains  of  which  still  stand  surrounded  by  venerable 
trees.  The  old  shepherd  of  Lord  Rosebery's  Moorfoot  farm 
is  full  of  reminiscences  of  the  convent  and  the  Herondean. 
The  Earl  referred  the  writer  to  him  for  reminiscences  of  the 
place.  The  Powbate  Glen  is  an  ideal  place  for  the  geologist 
to  study  the  action  of  the  glaciers,  the  dunes  and  rounded 
stones  and  smooth  hills  all  carrying  one  back  to  the  ice  age. 

A  small  glen,  also  with  a  stream,  unites  with  the  Powbate 
between  the  hills  known  as  the  Kipps,  and  bears  the  name 
of  the  Herondean  or  Hirendean,  from  the  fact  that  it  then 
was,  and  still  is,  the  favourite  haunt  of  herons,  which  sought 
for  the  minnow  in  the  two  sweet  streams  flowing  from  the 
two  glens  and  uniting  at  the  foot,  passing  the  ancient  convent, 
and  then  hurrying  into  the  great  Gladhouse  reservoir,  with  its 
two  islands  and  lovely  expanse — the  main  source  of  the  water 
supply  of  Edinburgh.  Herondean  Castle,  a  picturesque  ruin, 
stands  on  a  knoll  above  the  water  bearing  that  name,  and  even 
in  recent  years  was  inhabited.  The  Newbattle  fathers  had 
admirable  fishing  in  these  Moorfoot  streams,  while  the  green 
hillsides  provided  magnificent  pasture  and  cover  for  game  of 
all  sorts.  The  South  Esk  escapes  from  the  Gladhouse  reser- 
voir and  flows  through  rich  woodlands  and  romantic  glens, 
till  it  reaches  Newbattle,  where  it  assumes  larger  proportions, 
and  then  continues  its  journey,  till  below  Dalkeith  Palace  it 
unites  with  the  North  Esk,  and,  together,  the  united  rivers 
journey  on  their  way  to  the  sea,  running  beneath  the  ancient 
Roman  bridge  at  Musselburgh,  which  was  crossed  by  Prince 
Charlie  and  his  Highlanders,  and  thence  to  the  German  Ocean. 

The  Powbate  or  Bowbate  glen,  where  the  South  Esk  has 
its  rise,  has  a  curious  legend.  Thomas  the  Rhymer's  prophecy 
that  Powbate,  which  legend  says  completely  fills  the  great 
hill  in  which  it  is  situated,  will  yet  break  out  and  flood  all 
the  country  around,  refers  in  its  last  line  to  Newbattle  Abbey  : 

"  Powbate  an  ye  break, 
Tak'  the  Moorfoot  in  yer  gate, 
Moorfoot  and   Mauldslie, 
Huntleycote,  a'  three, 
Five  kirks  and  an  abbacie." 

(35) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

The  five  kirks  are  Temple,  Carrington,  Borthwick,  Cock- 
pen,  and  Dalkeith  .,  the  abbacy  being  Newbattle. 

Newbattle  Abbey,  the  15  2nd  House  in  the  roll  of  the 
Cistercian  Order,  was  founded  by  David  I.,  the  "  sair  sanct 
for  the  Croon."  The  following  is  its  earliest  Charter  of 
foundation  : — "  David,  King  of  Scots,  to  the  Bishops,  Abbots, 
Knights,  Barons,  representatives,  and  to  all  his  faithful  in 
his  whole  kingdom,  greeting.  Be  it  known  unto  you  that  I 
have  given  and  made  this  grant  forever  to  God  and  Holy  Mary, 
and  to  Monks  of  Newbattle.  In  witness  whereof,  Ruchal ; 
Alwinus,  Abbot  of  Edinburgh ;  Gilbert,  prior ;  Edward,  chan- 
cellor ;  Duncan,  knight ;  Hugo  de  Morewyll ;  and  Macbeth 
of  Liberton.  Given  at  Edinburgh."  It  was  founded  in  1140 
or  1141  for  Cistercian  monks,  brought  from  Melrose,  which 
had  grown  too  full,  hence  the  necessity  of  founding  a  new 
colony  [Newbattle,  or  more  properly,  Newbottle :  new  resid- 
ence ;  cf.  Morebattle,  &c.],  Melrcse  being  the  old  residence. 
Melrose  had  become  so  full  in  the  new  Cistercian  revival  and 
enthusiasm  that  it  could  not  contain  the  numbers  of  those 
who  sought  in  its  cloisters  at  once  a  refuge  from  the  temptations 
of  this  world  and  a  rule  of  life  under  which  they  might  be  fitted 
for  a  better  :  "  the  children  which  thou  shalt  have  ....  shall 
say  again  in  thine  ears,  the  place  is  too  strait  for  me;  give 
place  to  me  that  I  may  dwell."  Accordingly,  Ralph  and  a 
small  party  of  Cistercians  said  farewell  to  Melrose  and  jour- 
neying up  the  Gala  Water,  arrived  at  the  Esk  side,  and  called 
the  place  Newbottle.  The  name  is  spelt  in  more  than  three  dozen 
different  ways.  There  are  several  places  called  "  Newbottle  " 
in  the  north  of  England,  one  parish  in  Durhamshire,  the  best 
known  township  of  which  is  Fencehouses,  and  letters  fre- 
quently arrive  there  which  are  intended  for  the  Midlothian 
parish ;  one  in  Northamptonshire,  and  one  in  Germany. 

In  volume  I.  of  "  Originum  Cisterciensium,"  by  Father 
Leopold  lanauschak,  O.  Cist,  professor  of  ecclesiastical  history 
and  of  Canon  Law  in  Vienna,  Newbattle  Abbey  is  described 
as  No.  152  of  the  Cistercian  abbeys  of  the  world,  and  the 
different  names  of  the  monastery  are  to  be  found  in  various 
manuscripts  existing  in  public  libraries  and  private  collections 
throughout  Europe — thirty-six  in  number. 

I  quote  this  learned  Cistercian  writer's  list  verbatim  : — 
"Neubottelium,  Newbottle,  Newbattle,  Newbottel,  Newbottell, 

(36) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Newbottele,  Newbothelium,  Newbothele,  Newbotil,  Newbottil, 
Newbottill,  Newbode,  Nembode,  Nembodt,  Nembodel,  Neu- 
bode,  Neubote,  Newbothe,  Neubotle,  Neubolla,  Neubothle, 
Neublothe,  Neublot,  Neobotle,  Neubothel,  Neubothelle,  Neu- 
botel,  Neubotil,  Neubotile,  Neubotyl,  Neubottil,  Neubatil, 
Neubattle,  Neuboune,  Neurotel,  Maria  Neunboil." 

After  enumerating  these  names  which  ring  the  changes 
exhaustively  and  exhaustingly,  and  which  would  make  an 
excellent  mathematical  puzzle  for  our  higher  grade  schools,  as 
they  certainly  are  a  striking  proof  of  the  easy  methods  of 
mediaeval  spelling,  he  adds  in  Latin,  "  This  house  (the  name 
of  which  comes  from  a  Saxon  word  '  bottle  ' — that  is  '  villa  ' 
—as  at  Eld-bottle  (Old-bottle)  in  East  Lothian),  Newbottle 
is  on  the  shore  of  the  South  Esk,  not  far  from  the  town  of 
Dalkeith,  in  Mid-Lothian,  and  in  the  diocese  of  St.  Andrew 
in  Scotland,  and  was  founded  by  David  I.,  King  of  Scotland 
— the  mother-house  being  Melrose  (of  the  line  of  Claravallis, 
or  the  Vale  of  Light),  and  in  the  calendar  the  date  is  given  as 
1140.  First  among  the  many  prelates  who  occupied  the  post 
of  chief  pastor  was  Ralph,  to  whom,  as  with  his  successors, 
writers  refer  as  having  been  exceedingly  strict  in  discipline." 

From  the  foundation  of  Newbattle  in  1140  until  the 
Reformation  of  1560,  there  were  in  all  thirty-six  abbots,  which 
gives  an  average  of  about  twelve  years'  rule  for  each. 

The  first  abbot, — Ralph  or  Radulphus — was  "  a  person 
of  beautiful  presence.  He  was  continually  occupied  in  divine 
meditation,  for  from  his  youth  he  had  loved  his  Creator  with 
all  his  heart.  It  is  said  that  once,  when  he  was  engaged  in 
prayer  in  his  cell,  the  devil  appeared  to  him  as  black  as  pitch." 
It  is  a  stretch  of  more  than  seven  hundred  years  between  Abbot 
Ralph  and  "  Camp  Meg,"  the  eccentric  horse-doctor,  who  early 
in  the  nineteenth  century  lived  a  solitary  life  on  the  Roman 
Camp  hill  above  Newbattle,  and  yet  these  two  shake  hands 
across  the  ages  as  having  had  each  a  personal  vision  of  the 
Prince  of  Darkness,  only  to  the  half-witch  he  made  his  com- 
pearance,  not  "  black  as  pitch,"  but  in  colours.  Some  time 
before  1150  Ralph  took  part  in  the  adjustment  of  terms  of 
peace  between  the  Abbots  of  Kelso  and  Holyrood,  in  a  con- 
ference at  the  Crag  of  Treverlen.  In  all  probability  Ralph's 
old  association  at  Melrose  with  the  neighbouring  Kelso,  and 
his  new  association  with  the  neighbouring  Holyrood,  accounts 

(37) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

for  the  fact  of  his  being  called  upon  to  arbitrate  between  the 
two  contending  abbots  and  abbacies.  Pope  Innocent  II. 
granted  the  Abbey  entire  immunity  from  tithes  during  his 
rule,  and  ratified  the  grants  of  land  already  made  by  King 
David.  It  was  a  wonderful  church-founding  and  church- 
building  age.  The  saintly  Queen  Margaret  imbued  her  son 
David  with  the  desire  to  establish  the  Christian  Church  more 
thoroughly  than  had  been  the  case  with  the  earlier  Culdee  or 
Columban  Church,  and  it  was  she  who  supplanted  the  some- 
what effete  and  decaying  Culdee  ecclesiastical  rule  and  polity 
by  the  vigorous  missionary  Church  of  Rome,  which  up  till  her 
reign  had  had  no  place  in  Scotland,  the  Church  of  S.  Columba 
being  independent  of  the  Roman  see.  Mother  and  son  divided 
Scotland  into  dioceses  with  bishops,  parishes  with  Roman 
priests,  and  founded  monasteries  all  over  the  land.  It  was 
an  age  of  revival  all  over  Europe, — the  age  when  many  of  the 
great  universities  were  founded,  and  when  the  Knights  Tem- 
plar and  other  Crusaders  were  on  fire  to  rescue  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  from  the  grasp  of  the  infidel,  whose  officers  are 
still  sitting,  as  the  writer  recently  noted  with  sorrow,  at  the 
entrance  to  that  wonderful  Jerusalem  Tomb-Church,  reading 
aloud  prayers  from  the  Koran  and  raising  their  voices  higher 
as  humble  Christian  pilgrims  enter  the  holy  place,  where  they 
believe  the  Lord  was  crucified  and  buried. 

Many  years  later  the  Crusading  Knights-Templar  founded 
a  house  farther  up  the  Esk  from  Newbattle,  called  Balant- 
radoch,  and  latterly  called  Temple,  which  with  Torphichen 
formed  one  of  the  chief  homes  of  those  martial-monks,  who 
combined  the  life  of  devotion  with  a  military  ardour  in  the 
Crusades. 

When  Ralph  became  Abbot  of  Newbottle  the  house  must 
have  been  of  the  very  simplest  description.  Whether  there 
was  a  Culdee  Church  there  already  or  not  is  hard  to  say,  but 
St  Mungo's  influence  in  the  district  spread  far  and  wide,  and 
there  are  traditions  that  a  Culdee  religious  establishment 
existed  there  prior  to  the  arrival  of  the  Cistercians.  The 
country  around  was  the  rough,  wild  Caledonia  pictured  by 
the  Roman  soldiers,  —  the  thick  Caledonian  forest  of  short, 
stunted  oaks,  some  remnants  of  which  can  still  be  traced  in 
Newbattle  and  Dalkeith. 

Here  is  a  description  of  Caledonia  by  a  Greek  writer  of 
(38) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

the  sixth  century,  whose  information  evidently  came  from  the 
reports  of  Caesar's  returned  legions.  "  On  the  North  side 
of  the  Wall  of  Hadrian,  all  is  different,  insomuch  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  a  man  to  live  there,  even  for  half-an- 
hour.  Vipers  and  serpents  innumerable,  with  all  other  kinds 
of  wild  beasts,  infest  that  place.  And,  what  is  most  strange, 
the  natives  affirm  that  if  any  one  passing  that  Wall  should 
proceed  to  the  other  side,  he  would  die  immediately, — unable 
to  endure  the  unwholesomeness  of  the  atmosphere ;  death  also 
attacking  such  beasts  as  go  thither,  destroys  them.  They  say 
that  the  souls  of  men  departed  are  always  conducted  to  this 
place,  but  in  what  manner  I  will  explain  immediately,  having 
frequently  heard  it  from  men  of  that  region,  relating  it  most 
seriously." 

Is  it  not  rather  strange  to  read  these  words  of  the  Byzan- 
tine historian,  Procopius,  reproducing  the  awe-struck  sentiments 
of  the  Roman  sentry  on  the  Scottish  Wall,  as  he  peered  out 
into  the  dim  unknown  land, — a  land  to-day  possessed  of  two 
great  cities,  one  of  which  rivals  Rome  in  population,  and  the 
other  Athens  in  culture.  But  such  were  their  views  of  poor 
Scotland ;  and  so,  wearied  of  the  constant  feuds  with  the  in- 
domitable Picts,  the  Roman  eagles  went  south  and  made  way 
for  the  standard  of  the  Cross, — and  the  soldiers  of  Caesar  were 
supplanted  by  the  soldiers  of  Christ. 

No  sooner  did  the  legions  leave  than  the  missioners  of 
Jesus  arrived  :  and  what  Rome  with  all  its  power  could  not 
effect,  the  peaceful  faith  of  Christ  accomplished,  and  savage 
Scotland,  which  had  set  its  teeth  against  Caesar's  spearmen 
and  archers,  threw  its  soul  at  the  feet  of  Emmanuel. 
"  Nazarene,"  as  the  Emperor  Julian  said  on  dying,  feeling 
himself  powerless  against  the  calm  power  of  the  religion  of 
peace  and  goodwill,  and  unable  to  do  what  it  could  do — 
"  Thou  hast  conquered  !  "  "  fv  TOVTU  vectors,"  to  echo  the 
other  church  legend — "  in  this  (the  Cross  of  Christ)  thou  shalt 
be  victorious  !" 

Possibly  the  Roman  soldiers  who  tramped  all  over  Mid- 
lothian, and  whose  roads  and  camps  and  bridges, — notably  the 
Maiden  Bridge  over  the  South  Esk  at  Newbattle,  and  the  Old 
Bridge  of  Musselburgh,  over  which  in  a  later  age  Prince 
Charlie  and  his  Highlanders  passed, — may  have  brought  some 
notions  of  Christianity  to  the  district,  as  they  did  to  other 

(39) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

places.  St.  Mungo's  wide  influence  all  over  the  Lothians  had 
definite  results  in  various  places  in  the  foundation  of  churches. 
In  Midlothian  alone  half-a-dozen  churches  are  dedicated  to 
him.  The  remains  of  his  cross  are  still  traceable  at  Borthwick. 
So  that  it  is  extremely  probable  that  a  simple  religious 
house, — as  tradition  declares, — stood  by  the  shore  of  the  South 
Esk,  where  the  Culdee  faith  was  preached  and  the  Nazarene 
was  worshipped. 

The  country  around  was  then  in  its  primeval  roughness. 
The  vast  Caledonian  forest,  with  its  stunted  oaks,  stretched 
all  over  the  Esk  valley.  The  few  people  who  existed  were 
rude  and  uncivilized.  There  still  remains  at  Crichton  an 
underground  dwelling, — the  only  one  in  Midlothian — where  a 
primitive  family  lived, — secure  from  the  attacks  of  the  wild 
beasts  which  then  infested  the  woods — wolves,  boars,  and 
other  beasts  of  prey.  How  strange  must  that  early  man's 
feelings  have  been,  as  with  sunrise  on  the  sea  and  the  golden 
bars  across  the  sky,  he  rose  from  his  bed  of  death,  this  earth- 
tabernacle,  and  gazed  out  in  wonder  on  the  Moorfoots  and  the 
Pentlands,  with  their  traces  of  the  ice  age  in  rounded  hills  and 
dunes,  and  of  volcanic  activity  in  the  sugar-loafed  Carnethy, 
and  the  other  extinct  burning  mountains  around.  At  the  very 
time  that  the  wonderful  and  magnificent  natural  developments 
were  in  progress, — earthquake  and  upheaval,  glacier  movements 
and  ice  pressure,  —  there  were  few  eyes  to  behold  the 
wonderful  miracle  of  world-building.  The  solitary  human 
being  looked  out  in  awe  on  the  magnificent  panorama,  of 
which  he  knew  nothing.  His  rude  wonderings  as  to  God 
were  to  receive  a  fresh  direction  by  the  advent  of  the 
Cross  and  the  preaching  of  the  Crucified,  and  Newbattle 
is  the  mother  church  of  the  district,  for  in  the  Esk 
valley  was  constituted  the  first  important  settlement  for  the 
diffusion  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  the  civilization  of  the 
race,  which  had  so  long  pined  in  darkness.  One  can  hardly 
wonder  at  Ralph  having  a  vision  of  the  Power  of  Darkness 
when  one  thinks  of  the  gross  darkness  which  then  covered  the 
land. 

The  second  Abbot  was  Alfred,  who  took  office  in  1159. 
The  simple  ecclesiastical  establishment  of  Ralph  by  the  banks 
of  the  Esk  must  have  felt  keenly  the  removal  of  its  semi- 
inspired  head.  A  beautiful  picture  might  be  drawn  of  the 

(40) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

decease  of  the  one  who  founded  the  place,  and  brought  celes- 
tial influences  to  bear  upon  the  valley.  One  might  quote  the 
lines  of  the  American  poet  Will  Carleton  when  he  describes 
the  last  journey  and  death  of  the  roving  pastor  in  the  back- 
States,  who  amid  many  discouragements  tried  to  influence  the 
backwoodsmen  for  God  and  Heaven,  and  to  whom  his  people 
had  given  a  holiday  to  Switzerland  to  recruit  his  enfeebled 
health  : 

"Our  parson  lay  'mid  garden's  smiling  scent, 

And  the  patient  face  within  it  preached  a  final  sermon  to  us ; 

Our  parson  had  gone  touring  on  a  trip  he'd  long  been  earning, 

To  that  Wonderland  whence  tickets  are  not  issued  for  returning. 

O  faithful,  true-heart  shepherd,  your  sweet  smiling  lips  half- 
parted, 

Told  of  scenery  that  burst  on  you  just  the  moment  that  you  started  ; 

Could  you  speak  once  more  among  us,  you  could  tell  us  without 
fearing ; 

You  could  tell  us  tales  of  glory  we  should  never  tire  of  hearing." 

Alfred  took  part  in  1173  in  a  synod  of  abbots  and  bishops 
which  was  held  in  St.  Cuthbert's,  Edinburgh, — one  of  the 
oldest  seats  of  Christianity  in  the  Scottish  Metropolis,  and 
probably  founded  by  the  Saint  of  Lindisfarne  himself, — and 
his  name  is  mentioned  several  times  in  connection  with  it.  He 
was  a  true  abbot,  and  enriched  Mewbattle  in  many  ways. 
He  acquired  many  saintly  relics,  which  were  then  in  large 
request,  and  made  a  religious  house  famous  and  great,  and 
had  them  enclosed  in  a  silver  chest.  He  adorned  the  chapter- 
house, the  foundations  of  which,  like  the  church,  were  a  few 
years  ago  unearthed  by  the  Marquess  of  Lothian,  with  handsome 
seats  and  "  menologies,"  and  he  himself  died  on  October  i7th, 
1179, — after  a  rule  of  about  twenty  years,  during  which  the 
Abbey  greatly  increased  in  power  and  reputation. 

Abbot  Hugh  succeeded  him,  and  his  life  seems  to  have 
been  spent  very  largely  in  settling  civil  and  ecclesiastical  con- 
troversies. On  Mid-lent  Sunday,  1180,  he  attended  the  Court 
of  William,  King  of  Scots,  held  at  Haddington,  and  assisted 
in  the  settlement  of  a  fierce  quarrel  between  the  monks  of 
Melrose  and  the  lords  of  Lauderdale  regarding  their  rights 
in  the  forest  which  stretched  between  the  Gala  Water  and  the 
Leader.  In  the  Acts  of  the  Scottish  Parliament  the  whole 
controversy  is  detailed.  In  1190,  another  controversy  took 
place  between  the  monks  of  Kelso  and  the  rector  of  Liliscleue 
regarding  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction;  and' so  hot  at  last  did  the 
quarrel  become  that  it  was  carried  to  the  Vatican  and  settled 

(41) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

by  the  Pope  himself, — an  interesting  side-light  on  the  subject 
of  the  ecclesiastical  position  of  the  Scottish  Church,  which  the 
late  Pope  in  a  pastoral  declared  to  have  been  "  the  special 
daughter  of  the  Roman  see,"  and  subject  directly  to  the  Bishop 
of  Rome,  without  any  intervening  authority.  Baronius  (xii. 
833)  says  : — "  St.  Andrews,  Glasgow,  Dunkeld,  Dunblane, 
Brechin,  Aberdeen,  Moray,  Ross,  and  Caithness,  are  immedi- 
ately subject  to  the  Apostolic  see  "  :  while  Gervase  of  Tilbury 
says: — "In  our  time  the  sees  of  Scotland  are  enrolled  as 
immediately  dependent  on  our  lord  the  Pope  "  ;  adding  bitterly 
that  in  this  respect  Scotland  is  better  off  than  England.  This 
special  position  of  the  Scottish  Church  arose  from  the  disputes 
with  the  see  of  York,  which  claimed  Scotland;  and  the  very 
division  of  the  island  into  two  nearly  equal  parts  accounts, 
doubtless,  for  the  double  Primacy  of  the  English  Church  :  the 
somewhat  secondary  position  of  York  nowadays  being  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  largest  part  of  the  original  arch-diocese  is 
cut  off. 

In  the  dispute  referred  to,  the  Pope  appointed  three 
commissioners  to  report, — John,  Bishop  of  Dunkeld;  Symon, 
Archdeacon  of  Glasgow ;  and  Hugh,  Abbot  of  Newbottle, — 
and  these  three  settled  the  controversy  to  the  satisfaction  of 
all  parties.  Hugh  also  assisted  in  settling  a  controversy  be- 
tween the  monks  of  Jedburgh  and  Adam  Fitzger,  regarding 
Hutton  Church;  another  between  William  the  Lion  and 
Jocelin,  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  regarding  Hassendean  Church 
and  its  patronage,  which  resulted  in  the  patronage  being  given 
to  Melrose ;  and  a  third  between  the  Prior  of  St.  Andrews  and 
the  Newbottle  monks  regarding  the  lands  of  the  latter  in 
Haddingtonshire.  Abbot  Hugh  brought  Newbattle  Abbey  into 
public  notice,  and  his  name  stands  out,  not  so  much  as  a  home 
administrator  like  Alfred,  but  as  an  ecclesiastical  judge  and 
disposer  of  disputes.  In  1201  he  resigned. 

Adam  succeeded  him,  being  promoted  from  the  post  of 
master  of  the  lay  brethren,  whose  duty  it  was  to  till  the  fields 
and  look  after  the  general  interests  of  the  monastery.  It  was 
probably  about  this  period  that  the  event  took  place  which 
Sir  Walter  Scott  has  immortalised  in  his  poem,  "  The  Gray 
Brother."  It  was  certainly  one  monk  about  this  time  who  com- 
mitted a  grave  moral  offence,  and  Heron  of  Burndale,  near 
Gilmerton,  in  revenge  had  him  and  a  confederate  burned  to 

(42) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

death.  In  the  Melville  estate  the  House  of  Burndale  or  Burnt- 
dole  once  stood.  The  story  has  been  immortalised  by  Sir 
Walter  Scott's  "  Gray  Brother."  Sir  John  Herries  was 
Baron  of  Gilmerton  in  the  reign  of  David  II.  His  beautiful 
daughter,  Margaret,  being  of  a  strong  religious  disposition, 
frequented  Newbattle  Abbey  and  she  and  a  young  monk  there,— 
although  Sir  Walter  Scott  makes  him  the  Abbot,— became  enam- 
oured of  one  another.  In  the  valuable  work, — "  Memory  of 
the  Somervilles,"  it  is  said, — "  this  rascal  by  his  devillish 
rhetoric  and  allurements  so  far  prevailed  upon  the  simplicity 
of  this  gentlewoman  that  at  length  he  betrayed  her."  Sir 
John  Herries  discovered  that  a  guilty  intrigue  was  being  carried 
on  between  his  daughter  and  the  young  monk,  with  the  conniv- 
ance of  her  nurse, — a  widow,  who  lived  at  what  is  now  called 
Burndale, — and  threatened  Margaret  that  if  ever  again  she  fre- 
quented the  grange,  death  would  be  the  result.  One  dark 
night  he  discovered  both  his  daughter  and  the  widow-nurse 
in  an  intrigue  there  with  two  Newbattle  monks,  and,  filled 
with  rage,  he  and  his  servants  set  fire  to  the  thatch,  and  all 
those  inside  were  burned  to  death.  The  place  was  ever  after- 
wards called  Burntdool  or  Burndale,  and  the  lodge  of  Melville 
Castle  on  the  roadside  is  called  to-day  Burndale  Cottage. 
Sir  Walter  Scott's  account  in  the  "Gray  Brother  "—one  of 
his  earliest  attempts,  written  when  he  lived  at  Lasswade  Cot- 
tage close  by — is  a  vivid  and  striking  pictorial  description  of 
the  scene.  For  burning  these  two  monks, — an  act  of  sacrilege, 
—Sir  John  Herries  or  Herring  had  to  flee  the  country,  and 
his  estate  was  forfeited  to  the  king.  His  friend,  Sir  Walter 
Somerville,  interceded  with  the  Abbot  of  Newbattle,  and  re- 
presented the  scandal  of  those  two  monks  which  fell  on  the 
whole  order.  Sir  John  Herries  and  his  other  daughter,  Giles, 
went  to  live  at  Sir  Walter  Somerville's  castle  at  Conthally, 
and  the  latter,  who  was  a  widower,  fell  in  love  with  Giles, 
and  bargained  with  her  father  that  if  he  procured  his  pardon 
he  would  get  his  daughter  as  a  reward,  and  that  "  half  the 
lands  of  Gilmerton  should  be  settled  on  him  and  his  wife  and 
the  heirs  of  that  marriage,  or  any  other  marriage  past  or  to 
come,  irredeemable  for  ever."  Sir  John  Herries  was  pardoned 
on  these  terms  : — "  That  Sir  John  should  make  over  for  him 
and  for  his,  the  merk  lands  of  the  Grange  where  the  murder 
was  committed,  to  and  in  favour  of  the  abbey  of  Newbattle, 

(43) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

claiming  no  right  therein,  neither  in  property,  superiority,  nor 
vassalage,  in  all  time  coming  :  and  further  that  the  said  Sir 
John  Herring  (Herries)  should,  bareheaded  and  barelegged, 
in  sackcloth,  crave  the  absolution  at  the  bishop's  and  abbot's 
hands,  and  stand  in  the  same  manner  at  the  principal  door  of 
St.  Catherine's  chapel  every  Sabbath  and  holy  day  for  one 
year,  paying  forty  pennies  at  every  time  to  the  poor  of  the 
parish,  and  one  hundred  merks  to  the  monks  of  Newbattle  to 
pray  for  the  souls  of  those  who  died  through  his  transgression." 
Sir  John  agreed,  received  the  king's  pardon,  was  absolved  by 
bishop  and  abbot,  and  had  his  estates  restored.  Sir  Walter 
then  married  the  other  daughter,  Giles,  who  became  heiress  to 
her  father's  properties,  although  half  of  the  lands  of  Gilmerton 
were  disposed  to  Sir  John  Herring's  nephew,  Patrick  Herring. 
Thus  both  the  Drum  estate  and  part  of  Gilmerton  passed  from 
the  house  of  Herring  or  Herries  into  that  of  Somerville. 

Sir  Walter  Scott  in  his  poetic  romance  makes  the  Abbot 
the  offender, ,  and  he  escapes  death  by  burning  and  fled 
and  sought  to  get  absolution  for  his  sin ;  and  at  last 
in  St.  Peter's  Cathedral  in  Rome  knelt  with  the  mul- 
titude in  worship.  And  the  story  goes  how  the  Pope, 
celebrating  "the  high,  high  mass,"  became  aware  of  the  presence 
of  a  grievous  sinner ;  and  being  found  out,  the  penitent  begged 
absolution.  The  reply  was,  that  only  the  "  Gray  Brother," 
i.e.,  Death,  could  absolve  him.  The  Abbot,  after  many 
wanderings,  returns  to  Newbattle  : 

"And  the  convent  bell  did  vespers  tell 

Newbottle's  oaks  among, 
And  mingled  with  the  solemn  knell 
Our  Ladye's  evening  song. 

"  The  heavy  knell,  the  choir's  faint  swell, 

Came  slowly  down  the  wind ; 
And  on  the  pilgrim's  ears  they  fell, 
As  his  wonted  path  he  did  find. 

"  Deep  sunk,  in  thought,  I  ween,  he  was, 

Nor  ever  raised  his  eye 
Until  he  came  to  that  dreary  place, 
Which  did  all  in  ruins  lie. 

"  He  gazed  on  the  walls  so  scathed  with  fire 

With  many  a  bitter  groan — 
And  there  was  aware  of  a  gray  friar 
Resting  him  on  a  stone. 

"  The  pilgrim  kneeled  him  on  the  sand, 

And  thus  began  to  saye  : 
When  on  his  neck  an  ice  cold  hand 
Did  that  gray  brother  lay." 

(44) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

The  old  story  still  goes  in  Newbattle  that  on  certain  nights 
of  the  year  the  "  Gray  Brother  "  is  seen  moving  among  the 
brushwood  round  the  "  Mary  Burn,"  and  the  great  oaks  and 
beech  trees  which  still  form  the  glory  of  the  Newbattle  valley. 
Nothing  could  exceed  in  beauty  the  loveliness  of  the  Newbattle 
valley,  especially  in  May,  with  the  marvellous  variety  of  colour 
and  richness  of  foliage.  Artists  from  every  corner  of  Britain 
have  vied  with  one  another  in  endeavouring  to  reproduce  the 
lovely  fresh  olive  and  green  tints,  and  the  rich  colours  of  lilac 
and  laburnum  and  rhododendron.  It  is  no  wonder  that  Sir 
Walter  Scott  spoke  of  it  as  the  most  beautiful  valley  in  Scot- 
land. The  wonderful  transformation  scene  of  Autumn,  with 
the  woods  touched  by  the  early  frost's  fiery  finger,  is  truly 
a  divine  revelation. 

Alan  succeeded  Hugh,  having  previously  been  sub-prior 
at  Melrose,  but  he  only  remained  a  year,  returning  to  Melrose 
on  June  8th,  1214,  and  spending  the  rest  of  his  days  there. 

According  to  a  frequent  custom,  which  showed  the  im- 
portance of  the  office,  if  the  holder  of  it  was  an  expert  in  viands 
and  household  provisioning,  the  cellarer  (Richard)  was  pro- 
moted to  fill  Alan's  place,  in  1214.  It  was  a  compliment  to  a 
good  housekeeper,  and  a  token  of  the  monks'  appreciation 
of  his  culinary  efforts  on  their  behalf,  to  give  him  the  highest 
office.  The  cellarer  was  a  most  important  functionary,  and  no 
names  are  more  frequently  referred  to  in  monastic  chronicles 
than  those  of  good  and  tasteful  caterers.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  in  this  connection  that  the  Scottish  names  Durward  and 
Usher  are  simply  forms  of  the  names  of  two  other  monastic 
officials,  viz.,  the  "  Door- ward  "  or  door-keeper — a  unique 
office,  which  in  Arbroath  Abbey  passed  altogether  into  the 
hands  of  one  family ;  and  the  usher  or  beadle,  of  which  name 
also  Wishart  and  the  French  "  Huissier  "  are  but  varieties. 

So  successful  were  Richard  the  Cellarer's  efforts  that,  on 
his  retirement  in  1216,  the  cellarer  was  again  promoted  to  the 
abbot's  chair, — still  further  proof  of  the  taste  of  the  Newbattle, 
as  of  the  Melrose,  monks  in  good  cheer.  Within  recent  years, 
in  excavations  round  the  Abbey,  great  ash-pits  filled  with  huge 
oyster-shells  have  been  discovered,  the  oysters  having  been 
brought  inland  from  the  monastic  seaport  at  Morison's  Haven, 
some  four  miles  off,  to  which  the  old  "  Salters'  Road " 
still  runs,  as  in  early  monastic  days.  Oyster-shells  are  to  be 

(45) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

found  built  into  many  of  the  walls,  having  been  used  by  the 
Cistercian  monks  where  the  modern  mason  uses  a  piece  of  slate 
between  stones  which  do  not  exactly  fit.  Seakail  is  to  be  seen 
carved  out  on  several  pillars  and  stones.  The  monks  had 
deer  forests  near  Callander,  and  excellent  fishing  in  the  River 
Esk,  which  flows  beside  the  Abbey,  and  used  to  overflow  and 
flood  the  crypt.  These  are  trifles,  but  at  the  same  time  are  proof 
of  the  monks'  careful  housekeeping  and  interest  in  the  tem- 
poralities. 

Adam  Halcarres, — for  such  was  this  Abbot's  name, — was 
placed  in  the  abbot's  chair  on  the  i3th  September,  1216.  He 
was  one  of  those  who,  in  1218,  went  to  York  to  have  the 
national  interdict  and  curse,  under  which  Great  Britain  then 
lay,  removed.  In  1219  he  was  made  Abbot  of  Melrose,  where 
he  died,  covered  with  honours,  in  1245.  His  character  might 
be  well  summed  up  in  the  language  of  the  old  Battle  Abbey 
chronicle,  which  describes,  in  quaint  and  most  beautiful  langu- 
age, the  life  and  death  of  an  abbot  whose  reign  was  in  the 
same  century  : — 

"  Though  he  continually  governed  those  who  were  under 
his  authority,  yet  he  himself  was  subservient  to  the  rules,  and 
commanded  no  one  as  a  master.  He  sustained  the  infirmities 
of  others,  and  called  them  forth  to  strength.  His  acts  cor- 
responded with  what  he  taught.  His  example  preceded  his 
doctrine.  He  inculcated  a  prompt  attendance  on  Divine  Ser- 
vice, and,  supporting  his  aged  limbs  on  his  staff,  preceded  his 
young  men  to  it.  Ever  first  in  the  choir,  he  was  ever  last  to 
quit  it.  Thus  he  was  a  pattern  of  good  works, — a  Martha 
and  a  Mary, — a  serpent  and  a  dove.  He  governed  the  clean 
and  the  unclean.  He  knew  how  to  bear  with  Ham,  and  how 
to  bestow  his  blessing  on  Shem  and  Japheth.  Like  a  prudent 
husbandman,  he  caused  occupied  lands  to  be  promptly  culti- 
vated, and  those  that  lay  waste  he  added  in,  and  by  this 
means  increased  their  value  by  the  sum  of  twenty  pounds. 
Meanwhile  he  overlooked  not  the  spiritual  husbandry, — tilling 
hearts  with  the  ploughshare  of  good  doctrine  in  many  books 
which  he  wrote ;  and  although  his  style  was  homely,  it  was  rich 
with  the  beauty  of  morality.  Neither  his  racking  cough,  or 
his  vomiting  of  blood,  nor  his  advanced  age,  nor  the  attenuation 
of  his  flesh,  availed  to  daunt  this  man,  or  to  turn  him  aside 
from  any  purpose  of  elevated  piety.  But,  lo  !  after  many 

(46) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

agonies  and  bodily  sufferings,  when  he  was  84  years  of  age, 
and  had  been  a  monk  60  years  and  36  days,  the  Great  House- 
holder summoned  him  to  the  reward  of  his  day's  penny." 

His  successor,  Richard,  had,  like  Abbot  Adam  before  him, 
been  master  of  the  lay  brethren,  and  was  elected  in  1219,  dying 
on  April  pth,  1220,  after  a  very  brief  term  of  office.  Another 
Richard  succeeded  him  in  1220;  he  had  been  a  prior.  During 
his  reign,  on  May  ipth,  1223,  Alexander  II.,  King  of  Scots, 
visited  the  Abbey — the  first  royal  visit;  though  in  after  ages 
Newbattle  Abbey  was  a  favourite  resort  of  Scottish  kings  and 
queens.  Alexander  bestowed  on  the  house  many  valuable  gifts, 
and  his  queen  lies  buried  still  within  its  precincts. 

Marie  de  Couci  was  the  second  wife  of  Alexander  II., 
King  of  Scotland.  On  the  last  day  of  August,  1241,  the 
young  Queen  made  a  kind  of  will,  and  bequeathed  her  body 
to  be  buried  in  the  '  Abbey  Church  of  Newbattle  ' ;  and  for 
this  privilege,  as  well  as  to  provide  the  monks  with  a  'pittance' 
on  the  King's  birthday  (St.  Bartholomew's  Day),  and  on  the 
day  of  the  Nativity  of  the  Virgin,  the  most  solemn  festival 
in  Cistercian  Abbeys  (of  which  Newbattle  was  one,  and  which 
were  all  dedicated  to  St.  Mary),  the  King  granted  to  the  Abbey 
'  the  vale  of  Lethan  (Innerleithen),  with  all  the  streams  that 
flow  into  it.'  After  Alexander's  death  she  married  again. 
Her  second  husband  was  John  de  Brienne,  son  of  the  Emperor 
of  the  East.  But  the  rest  of  her  life  is  unrecorded  in  history. 
It  is,  however,  stated  that  she  came  from  the  East  and  visited 
Scotland,  in  1272,  along  with  her  brother,  Enguerran  de 
Couci,  in  order  to  place  her  young  nephew,  the  heir  of  Guines, 
at  the  Scottish  Court.  We  do  not  know  whether  she  ever  left 
Scotland  again  or  not.  It  is  asserted  by  some  historians  that 
she  died  in  France,  and  that  her  body  was  brought  over  to 
Scotland;  but  it  is  certain  that,  wherever  she  breathed  her 
last,  her  dust  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  Abbey  Church  of  New- 
battle,  under  the  pavement,  and  a  splendid  monument  was 
erected  over  it,  which  was  one  of  the  sights  of  the  old  monas- 
tery, consisting  of  a  foundation  of  six  marble  lions,  and  over 
the  monument  her  effigy  in  marble, — the  whole  surrounded  with 
an  iron  grating.  It  must  have  been  a  striking  object  on  enter- 
ing the  splendid  church,  with  its  two  long  rows  of  massive 
pillars,  to  see  the  tall  white  figure  bent  in  perpetual  tears  over 
a  dust  which  no  human  power  could  ever  vivify.  For  nearly 

(47) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

300  years  it  stood  there, — a  sermon  in  stone,   a  preacher  in 
marble.     The  effect  which  its  perpetual  presence  in  their  midst 
must  have  had  on  the  monks, — the  weeping  form  above,  and 
the  supporting  lions  below, — the  one  speaking  so  eloquently 
of  human  grief  and  broken  hearts,  the  other  of  the  strength 
of  God  and  the  powerlessness  of  death  to  destroy  the  soul,— 
would  be  very  much  akin  to  the  effect  produced  on  a  visitor 
to  Westminster  Abbey  as  he  sees  around  him  the  crowd  of 
still  stone  figures  in  a  hundred  various  attitudes,  and  especi- 
ally that  marble  monument  to  a  famous  English  Duchess, — 
one  of  the  most  awe-inspiring  and  affecting  pieces  of  sculpture 
ever  produced, — in  which  Death,  a  hideous  skeleton,  is  repre- 
sented as  having  burst  open  a  black  iron  gate  below,  and  is 
crawling  up  on  all  fours  to  the  upper  elevation,  where  two 
white    figures,    a    man    and    a    woman,   are  described.     He 
is  aiming,   with  his  hand  of  bare  bones,   a  dart  at  a  dying 
woman    who   rests   on   her    husband's    knee.        The    husband 
has  his   hand   stretched  out  pleadingly,   and   with   a   fearful 
earnestness,  to  shield  his  dying  wife  from  the  horrible  spear 
which  the  relentless  monster  from  below  is  aiming  only  too 
unerringly.        No  one  can  ever  see  the  poise  of   that  out- 
stretched hand, — speaking  so  wonderfully  the  language  of  an 
affection  which  would  do  anything  and  everything  to  save  its 
object, — and  forget  it.     It  was  something  similar  which  stood 
above  Queen  Marie  de  Couci's  vault  in  Newbattle  Abbey  :  but 
who  knows  how  much  teaching  that  sorrowful  figure  may  have 
accomplished,  and  who  knows  but  that  the  thought,  of  which 
it  was  so  pregnant,   of  the  vanishing  frailty  of  all   earthly 
pomps  and  royalties,   may  have  led  some  worshipper  up  to 
those  higher  realities  over  which  Death  has  no  power,  but  which 
live  on  through  the  ages  and  survive  the  wrecks  and  ravages  of 
Time. 

Now,  alas  !  the  fair  queen's  resting-place  is  unremem- 
bered,  unhonoured,  and,  save  for  its  general  locality,  unknown. 
How  true  it  is,  true  both  for  king  and  commoner,  that  '  the 
dust  returns  to  dust.'  But  the  lion  on  her  tomb  spoke  of  the 
'Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,'  who  has  vanquished  Death: 
who  is  the  '  strong  Son  of  God,  immortal  Love  '  :  who  is  the 
'  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.'  ' 

About  a  dozen  years  ago,  when  important  changes  were 
being  made  in  Newbattle  House  at  the  corner  of  the  Abbey 

(48) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

next  the  Esk,  so  as  to  form  an  entrance  to  the  new  billiard- 
room,  a  quantity  of  human  remains  were  found  in  the  wall, 
and  in  the  floor  of  that  crypt  (the  most  complete  part  of  the 
Abbey  extant),  just  between  the  central  pillar  and  the  wall 
next  the  billiard-room,  a  tomb  was  discovered,  placed  as  usual 
from  east  to  west,  and  bones  inside  it.  The  opinion  of  some 
antiquarians  was  that  this  was  the  royal  tomb.  For  more 
than  three  hundred  years  the  monks  enjoyed  the  royal  pittance. 

Another  royal  personage  is  buried  in  Newbattle  Abbey,— 
Catherine  Mortimer,  the  paramour  of  David  Bruce,  King  of 
Scots;  she  was  stabbed  by  a  hired  assassin  employed  by  the 
Scottish  lords,  as  she  journeyed  from  Melrose  to  Soutra : 
"  whereupon,"  according  to  the  chronicler,  "  Bruce  took  great 
dolor,  and  caused  her  to  be  buried  honourably  at  Newbattle." 
It  is  said  that  his  father,  King  Robert  the  Bruce,  owned  a 
field  in  Newbattle. 

Alluding  to  distinguished  people  buried  in  the  Abbey  pre- 
cincts, I  may  add  that  in  the  Abbey  churchyard  (now  the 
flower-garden)  the  famous  Douglasses  of  Dalkeith  are  buried 
in  many  cases, — having  been  great  benefactors  of  the  monks. 
On  St.  Bride's  Day,  February  ist,  1329,  "  good  Sir  James 
Douglas,"  on  the  eve  of  his  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land 
with  the  heart  of  Bruce,  bestowed  on  the  monks  of  Newbattle 
his  half  of  the  lands  of  Kilmad,  the  other  half  of  which  they 
had  already  received  from  Roger  de  Quincey ;  and  in  return 
the  monks  had  to  sing  a  mass  at  St.  Bridget's  altar,  on  her 
festal  day,  "  yearly  for  evermore,"  and  to  feed  thirteen  poor 
folk,  so  that  the  saint  might  make  special  intercession  for  the 
weal  of  the  good  knight.  He  was  buried  at  the  foot  of  St. 
Bridget's  altar.  The  Scots  were  great  pilgrims,  and  probably 
performed  these  acts  of  devotion  from  the  days  of  St  Columba. 
They  were  well-known  figures  on  the  Continent  as  they  made 
their  way  to  Rome  or  the  Holy  Land.  But  for  every  one  who 
went  to  foreign  parts,  hundreds  must  have  gone  to  holy  places 
in  the  homeland.  It  was  not,  however,  till  the  fifteenth 
century  that  any  detailed  account  was  to  be  found.  After 
the  birth  of  James  IV.,  his  mother,  and  perhaps  his  father, 
set  out  with  a  large  retinue  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of 
St.  Ninian  at  Whithorn,  which  already  had  a  great  reputation. 
Judging  from  the  elaborate  preparations  which  were  made;  it 
must  have  been  looked  on  as  a  pleasant  trip  rather  than  a  pene 
D  (49) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

tential  exercise.     Of  the  visits  which  James  IV.  paid  almost 
annually    to    Whithorn,     there     are    many    interesting    par- 
ticulars, the  extracts  from  the  Accounts  casting  a  vivid  and 
sometimes  amusing  light  on  the  modes  of  life  and  travel  in 
these  days.     Only  second  in  fame  to  the  shrine  of  St.  Ninian 
was  that  of  St.  Duthac  at  Tain,  which  was  the  refuge  of  the 
wife  and  daughter  of  Robert  the  Bruce  when  they  were  com- 
pelled to  flee  from  Kildrummy.     Of  the  journeys  thither  many 
details  could  be  gathered  from  the  Accounts, — the  routes  taken, 
the  time  the  journey  took,  and  so  on.     The  pilgrimage  of  1507 
was  rather  remarkable.     It  was  probably  the  one  alluded  to 
by  Lesley,  who  stated  that  His  Majesty  rode  130  miles  in  one 
day.     The  Accounts,   without  actually  confirming  that  state- 
ment, proved  the  great  rapidity  of  the  journey.     On  the  3ist 
of  August  the  King  was  at  Perth  on  the  way  north,  where  his 
horse  required  shoeing,  and  on  the  i4th  of  September  a  man 
was   sent  to  Aberdeen   "  to  speir  of  the   King's  incoming," 
which  seemed  to  show  that  his  attendants  were  not  sure  of  his 
movements.     The  incident   was   a  curious  illustration  of   the 
impetuosity  of  the  young  King,  and  of  his  personal  activity. 
It  was  nonsense  to  call  James  IV.  a  debauchee,  as  had  some- 
times been  done.     The  roads  must  have  been  wonderfully  good 
to  allow  a  man  to  ride  130  miles  in  one  day,  as  he  seems  to 
have  done.     There  were  other  places  scarcely  less  venerated, 
but  as  they  were  within  easy  reach  of  Edinburgh,  there  were 
fewer  references  to  them  in  the  Accounts.     Whitekirk,  in  East 
Lothian,  was  at  one  time  a  place  of  much  resort.     In   1413 
no  fewer  than  15,563  pilgrims  visited  the  place,  and  the  offer- 
ings were  equal  to  1422  merks.     In  1430  James  I.  had  houses 
built  for  the  reception  of  the  pilgrims,  and  it  was  likely  that 
his  successors  visited  it  from  time  to  time.  The  Isle  of  May  was 
another  place  of  resort.     But  these  did  not  nearly  exhaust  the 
list  of  places  which  James  IV.  visited ;  in  fact,  he  never  passed 
a  holy  place  without  remembering  it.     These  pilgrimages  were 
by  no  means  on  ascetic  lines,  and  were  really  equivalent  to  our 
modern   summer   trips.     Falcons,   horses,   dogs,   and   weapons 
of  the  chase  were  invariably  part  of  the  Royal  equipment,  and 
the  days  were  spent  in  hunting  and  hawking,  as  was  shown 
by  such  entries  in  the  Accounts  as  "  2/8  for  pokes  to  put  the 
laverocks  in,"  while  the  amusements  of  the  evening  were  sup- 
plied by  the  King's  troop  of   Italian  minstrels,   or  by  local 

(50) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

harpers,  singers,  and  story-tellers,  while  the  King  himself 
would  occasionally  touch  the  lute.  Cards  and  chess  were  also 
played  to  pass  the  time.  Of  the  religious  influence  and  sig- 
nificance of  these  pilgrimages,  it  was  impossible  to  judge  in 
our  day.  Among  the  thousands  of  pilgrims,  many  no  doubt 
felt  their  spiritual  life  quickened  and  edified.  As  to  King 
James  IV.  himself,  though  we  could  hardly  call  his  life 
saintly,  there  was  nothing  necessarily  insincere  in  these  acts  of 
devotion.  The  mediaeval  mind  was  a  curious  mixture ;  pleasure 
and  penance  followed  each  other  in  quick  succession.  In  1390, 
this  pilgrim,  Sir  James  Douglas  of  Dalkeith,  made  a  will,  dated 
September  30th,  in  which,  commending  his  soul  "  to  God  and 
to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  and  All  Saints,"  he  ordered  his 
body  to  be  buried  at  Newbattle  Abbey,  beside  his  first  wife, 
Agnes  of  Dunbar.  He  bequeathed  the  monks  an  "  ouche  " 
or  jewel  of  St.  John,  worth  40  merks,  and  in  addition  .£23, 
6s  8d  for  the  building  of  the  Abbey  Church  and  wages  to 
masons.  For  the  refectory  he  gave  12  solid  silver  dishes 
costing  1 8  pounds  6  shillings  sterling,  and  left  orders  that 
none  was  to  remove  them,  but  that  they  were  to  be  a  possession 
for  ever.  He  left  ^10  to  the  monks  to  pray  for  his  soul,  and 
£26,  133  4d  for  an  offering,  and  lights  and  other  necessities 
for  his  funeral. 

In  1230,  Abbot  Richard,  under  whose  rule  Alexander  II, 
visited  Newbattle  Abbey  (the  first  royal  visit  of  many, — the 
latest  being  those  of  Queen  Victoria  and  of  the  lamented  Duke 
of  Clarence,  who  planted  a  little  tree,  which  still  struggles 
to  grow,  under  the  shadow  of  the  church),  was  succeeded  by 
Constantine,  under  whose  rule  the  great  Abbey  Church,  hitherto 
small  and  poor,  was  -dedicated  to  Almighty  God  on  March 
1 6th,  1233,  by  the  Bishop  of  Moray.  The  foundations  of 
that  church  were,  in  1878,  re- discovered,  for  at  the  Reforma- 
tion the  church  was  moved  and  re-built  a  stone-throw  off. 
Many  of  the  ancient  fragments  remain  in  sculptured  stones 
and  pillars;  and  the  present  parish  church  is  mainly  composed 
of  the  stones  of  the  old  abbey  church. 

In  1237,  Roger,  who  had  been  cellarer  at  Melrose,  was 
elected ;  he  afterwards  went  to  France  and  died  at  Vaudey 
in  1256.  During  his  reign,  the  Lord  Chancellor  of  Scotland, 
Robert  de  Keldelach,  having  become  implicated  in  the  "  Dur- 
ward  Plot,"  was  obliged  to  resign  his  high  office;  and,  dis- 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

gusted  with  the  world,  he  retired  to  the  shelter  of  Newbattle 
Abbey. 

In  1257,  William  succeeded,  and  acquired  for  the  Abbey 
properties  in  Leith  and  Greenside.  Adam,  cellarer  at  Melrose, 
succeeded  him,  and  eventually  became  Abbot  of  Melrose.  As 
Newbattle  sprang  from  Melrose,  so  the  intimate  connection 
between  these  two  sets  of  Cistercian  brothers  seems  never  to 
have  been  lost. 

In  1260,  the  Abbey  porter,  Guido,  succeeded;  Patrick 
followed  him;  then  Walter;  then  Waldeve, — another  Melrose 
cellarer.  His  death  is  thus  described: — "  Dom  Waldeve,  of 
pious  memory  and  holy  conversation,  abbot  of  Neubotle,  going 
the  way  of  all  flesh,  with  blessed  end,  departed  to  the  Lord, 
leaving  his  house  in  full  peace  and  excellent  condition,  both 
in  its  spiritual  and  its  temporal  affairs,  in  the  third  year  of 
his  government,  on  February  3rd,  1275  :  whose  body  was 
interred  with  due  reverence,  as  became  one  holding  the  office 
of  father  abbot,  on  the  eve  of  Agatha,  virgin  and  martyr." 

John  succeeded  him  in  1275,  and  during  his  reign  Edward 
I.  was  at  Newbattle  Abbey  in  his  career  of  so-called  conquest 
of  Scotland, — 5th  June,  1296.  Gervase  succeeded  in  1312 — a 
prelate  who  sat  in  the  Scotch  Parliaments  at  Cambuskenneth, 
1314,  and  at  Ayr  in  1315.  After  Bannockburn  he  was  one 
of  those  who  met  at  Cambuskenneth  Abbey  and  cursed  the 
enemies  of  Scotland  and  all  who  had  fought  against  Bruce. 
In  1328,  William  succeeded,  and  during  his  reign,  the  Lords 
of  Melville  granted  the  monks  of  Newbattle  free  passage 
through  their  lands,  on  condition  that  they  received  a  Newbattle 
wagon — or  cart  made  by  the  monks,  round  whose  abbey  there 
clustered  a  village  composed  of  carpenters,  smiths,  joiners, 
&c.,  who  served  all  the  country  for  miles  around,  and  whose 
village  can  still  be  traced  in  the  abbey  park. 

Andrew  succeeded  in  1345  :  he  acted  as  commissioner 
for  the  Pope  regarding  the  rights  of  the  Cluniac  monks  in 
Scotland.  William  succeeded  in  1362,  and  Hugh  in  1367. 
In  his  reign,  in  1385,  the  Abbey  was  burned  down  by  the 
English  under  Richard  II.  and  his  uncle,  John  of  Gaunt,  who 
destroyed  many  Scotch  abbeys  and  minsters.  This  was  a 
great  disaster  to  the  Abbey,  and  all  was  lost,  many  of  the  monks 
being  taken  prisoners.  The  tower  was  injured,  and  the  monks 
took  flight.  The  great  seal  of  the  Abbey  at  this  period  is  still 
in  existence. 

(52) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

In  1390,  Nicholas  succeeded,  and  the  Abbey  was  restored. 
John  Gugy  succeeded  in  1409,  and  he  was  followed  by  William 
Manuel  in  1410,  William  Hyreot  in  1458,  and  Patrick  Meadow 
(licentiate  in  theology)  in  1460.  He  was  a  royal  commissioner 
for  holding  and  continuing  Parliament.  In  1470  John 
Crichtoune,  one  of  the  best  of  the  abbots,  succeeded,  under 
whose  rule  the  Abbey  regained  its  old  magnificence.  In 
Glasgow  University  records  (1474)  he  is  referred  to  as  "  a 
venerable  father  in  Christ,  John  Crichtune,  Abbot  of  the  Mon- 
astery of  Newbotil,"  and,  in  the  same  year,  "  Patrick  Sluth- 
man,  a  monk  of  the  convent."  In  1494,  Andrew  succeeded. 
Under  his  rule,  in  1503,  the  famous  visit  of  Princess  Margaret 
of  England,  daughter  of  Henry  VII.,  took  place,  the  maiden 
crossing  from  the  east  coast  by  the  "  Salters'  Road  "  (still 
existing),  and  entering  the  Abbey  precincts  possibly  by  the 
"  Maiden  Bridge,"  which,  though  probably  an  ancient  arch 
raised  by  the  Roman  soldiers  who  overran  all  this  district,  and 
of  whom  many  traces  are  still  to  be  found  in  camps,  roads, 
bridges,  and  forts,  may  have  received  its  name  from  the  fact 
that  the  future  Scottish  queen  of  James  IV.  may  have  crossed 
it  on  her  way  to  the  Abbey  as  a  maiden.  A  constant  tradition, 
however,  declares  that  the  Princess  Margaret,  with  her  cavalcade 
of  500  horsemen  led  by  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  passed  through  the 
"  Queen  Margaret  Gate," — "  the  great  gates," — the  pillars  of 
which  are  still  standing  inside  the  policies  below  Kippilaw,  a 
little  south  from  the  Maiden  Bridge,  and  downwards  through  the 
woods  to  the  river,  which  they  forded  at  the  "  old  ford  "  below 
the  present  flower  garden,  and  so  into  Newbattle  Abbey.  It 
was  while  staying  at  Newbattle  Abbey  that  James  IV.,  the 
royal  bridegroom,  visited  her  daily  from  Edinburgh.  This  is 
certainly  the  most  renowned  and  historical  royal  visit  of  the 
neighbourhood,  as  the  future  relations  of  England  and  Scot- 
land hung  over  the  issue  of  the  suit.  She  was  then  affianced 
to  the  Scottish  King  James  IV.  (1488-1513),  and  in  1503 
she  had,  with  a  gorgeous  retinue,  set  out  for  Edinburgh.  At 
Lamberton  Kirk,  on  the  Borders,  the  Archbishop  of  Glasgow, 
and  the  Scottish  nobles,  including  the  Earl  of  Morton,  met 
the  princess,  and,  the  marriage  contract  having  been  signed, 
accepted  custody  of  her  person.  The  journey  proceeded  by 
Fast  Castle,  on  the  German  Ocean,  where  a  night's  stoppage 
was  made,  then  through  Dunbar  to  the  church  of  Haddington, 

(53) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

thence  to  Newbattle  by  the  Salters'  Road.  This  marriage 
laid  the  foundation  for  the  future  union  of  the  two  crowns, 
and  by  the  marriage  treaty  a  peace  was  concluded  with  Eng- 
land, which  remained  unbroken  until  Flodden,  when  the  Scot- 
tish King  and  the  flower  of  the  nobility  and  army  fell  on  the 
field.  This  famous  royal  visit v  of  the  Princess  Margaret  to 
Newbattle  Abbey,  which  lasted  from  August  4th  to  7th,  1503, 
has  been  made  the  subject  of  a  most  beautiful  modern  Italian 
painting  in  bright  colours,  framed  in  golden  ecclesiastical  work, 
as  a  mantelpiece  in  the  present  mansion  of  Newbattle,  repre- 
senting the  arrival  of  the  princess  with  her  retinue  and  richly- 
caparisoned  horses  at  the  Abbey  door,  at  which  the  Abbot  and 
fathers,  in  their  white  flannel  Cistercian  habits,  stand  waiting 
to  welcome  her  to  a  house  to  which  royalty  was  always 
attracted,  and  where  two  Scottish  royalties  still  lie  buried — 
the  queen  of  Alexander  II.  and  the  paramour  of  David  II. 
The  Abbot  has  his  hand  raised  in  blessing,  and  the  scene 
altogether  is  a  most  charming  imaginative  painting  of  a  great 
historical  occasion,  the  imagination  coming  out  most  strongly 
in  the  delineation  of  the  Pentland  Hills,  which,  instead  of 
being  low  in  the  distant  horizon,  are  represented  as  towering 
in  blue  masses  above  the  very  monastery  door,  the  princess 
herself  reining  her  horse  in,  as  she  descends  the  imaginary 
declivity, — for  all  around  the  Abbey  there  is  flat,  plain  grass 
land.  On  the  corresponding  mantelpiece  in  the  beautiful 
drawing-room  of  the  present  Newbattle  House,  it  may  be  men- 
tioned that  there  is  a  similar  painting,  similarly  treated  in 
every  way,  of  the  laying  of  the  foundation  stones  of  the 
Abbey,  1140  or  1141  A.D. — both  beautiful  specimens  of  the 
modern  florid  Italian  style  of  painting.  In  1512,  John 
succeeded.  In  his  reign  James  V.  visited  the  Abbey, 
on  April  22nd,  1526,  and  it  was  while  staying  there 
that  the  king  granted  the  monks  the  right  to  make  a  harbour 
at  Prestongrange,  where  the  monks  shipped  their  coals.  They 
were  the  first  coal-workers  in  Great  Britain,  and  are  thus  the 
fathers  of  Britain's  commercial  greatness.  A  Belgian  priest, 
writing  about  this  period,  says — "  The  monks  of  Newbattle 
give  the  poor  lumps  of  black  stone  as  a  present."  The  work- 
ings of  the  monks  in  the  Esk  banks  are  still  observable. 

In  1526  Edward  Shewill  was  abbot.     In  the  chartulary 
he  grants  feu-charter  for  Craighouse  lands  to  Hugh  Douglas. 

(54) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

In  1531  James  succeeded.  It  was  he  who  developed  coal- 
mining at  Newbattle,  and  made  contracts  with  the  monks  of 
Dunfermline  as  to  Prestongrange  workings.  In  1540,  John  : 
in  1542  James  Hasmall,  or  Haswall,  or  Haswell,  under 
whom,  in  1544,  the  Abbey  was  again  ruthlessly  burned  by  the 
English  under  the  Earl  of  Hertford,  who  wrecked  all  the 
abbeys  of  the  south  of  Scotland.  The  church  was  never  thor- 
oughly rebuilt. 

The  first  connection  which  the  Haswells  had  with  New- 
battle  was  when  "  Dominus  Ricardo  de  Haswell  "  appears  as 
a  witness  to  "  carta  Willelmi  Lysurs,  dominus  de  Gouerton." 
(Charter  No.  36,  Newbattle  Abbey.)  From  the  fact  that  this 
charter  is  undated,  it  would  appear  to  be  a  very  early  one. 
In  the  time  of  Alexander  III.,  we  find  a  John  de  Heswel 
witnessing  a  Melrose  Abbey  Charter;  in  1296,  William  de 
Hessewell  signs  the  Ragman  Roll ;  and  in  the  reign  of  David 
II.  a  charter  is  granted  in  favour  of  John  Heswel.  I 
presume  the  Ricardo  de  Hessewell  was  contemporaneous 
with,  or  earlier  than  one  or  other  of  these,  as  from  the  time 
of  Robert  III.,  when  a  charter  was  granted  to  Robert  Haswell 
onward,  the  name  is  spelt  Haswell. 

The  next  Newbattle  Haswell  is  well  known,  viz.,  James 
Hasmall  or  Haswell,  who  was  abbot  iust  before  the  Refor- 
mation. His  arms,  "  A,  a  boar's  head  erased  S,  on  a  chief 
dancettee  of  the  last  three  mullets  of  the  first,"  appear 
on  the  font  at  Newbattle,  and  are  contiguous  with 
those  of  James  V.  and  Mary  of  Guise.  There  are  also  still 
extant  several  seals  of  this  abbot.  There  were  at  the  time 
Haswells,  both  of  Dirletdn  and  Jedburgh,  and  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  the  abbot  belonged  to  the  former,  which  seems  to 
be  a  branch  from  the  Border  lot,  although  I  have  not  as  yet 
succeeded  in  discovering  when  they  branched  off.  There  are 
still  Haswalls  in  the  parish  of  Newbattle  at  the  present  day. 

The  ruinous  condition  of  most  of  the  Scotch  abbeys  is  due, 
not  to  reforming  zeal  and  bigotry,  but  to  English  fire  and 
invasion.  The  fire  of  1544  was  the  last  stroke,  and  the  Abbey 
never  fully  recovered;  and  somewhere  about  1547  Mark  Ker,  a 
layman,  was  appointed  abbot,  although  Haswall  was  still  alive 
and  exercised  his  functions  until  1554 — Mark  Ker  not  being  a 
priest.  The  Reformation  crash  came,  and  Mark  Ker  was 
appointed  "  commendator  "  or  caretaker  of  the  lands,  the  aged 
monks  were  pensioned,  and  the  Abbey  was  at  an  end. 

(55) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Mark  Ker,  son  of  Sir  Andrew  Ker  of  Cessford,  was 
lay  Abbot  at  the  Reformation  of  1560.  He  became  a  Re- 
former at  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries,  and  was  made 
Commendator  of  the  lands,  and  thus  became  the  founder  of 
the  House  of  Lothian.  He  was  among  those  lords  and  barons 
who  subscribed  the  ' '  contract  to  defend  the  liberty  of  the 
Evangell  of  Christ  "  at  Edinburgh  on  the  2?th  April,  1560. 
In  the  roll  of  the  Parliament  on  the  ist  August  of  that  year 
which  ratified  and  approved  "  The  Confession  of  the  Faith 
and  Doctrine  believed  and  professed  by  the  Protestants  of 
Scotland,"  he  is  styled  "  Commendator  "  [or  caretaker  until 
the  troubles  of  the  time  had  passed  over]  of  Newbottle."  In 
course  of  time  he  married  Helen  Leslie,  of  the  House  of 
Rothes,  and  died  in  1584.  He  was  buried  in  a  vault  now 
called  the  Lothian  Vault,"  and  over  which  the  new  church, 
-  that  of  Leighton,  —  was  raised,  where  generations  of  his 
descendants  sleep,  and  where  the  body  of  the  beheaded 
Marquess  of  Argyll  lay  for  two  months.  Mr  Mark  Ker  left 
the  Abbey  and  its  properties,  of  which  he  was  temporary  care- 
taker, to  his  son,  but  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  he  had 
been  "  provided  "  to  them  by  Queen  Mary  in  1567.  Since 
then  Newbattle  Abbey  has  been  the  residence  of  his  descend- 
ants, the  Kers  or  Kerrs  of  Newbattle,  now  represented  by 
the  Marquess  of  Lothian.  It  is  a  fine  stately  residence,  the 
original  ecclesiastical  walls  and  buttresses  being  covered  over 
with  a  facing  of  plain  stone,  with  oblong  windows  to  give 
the  ecclesiastical  buildings  a  baronial  and  domestic  appear- 
ance. The  fine  vaults,  consisting  of  kitchen,  cellarage  with 
small  pillars  and  arches  and  barrel-roof,  have  recently  been 
restored  from  end  to  end  of  the  house,  and  are  very  impressive. 
But  the  church  is  wholly  effaced,  having  been  removed  to  the 
site  a  stone  throw  off,  and  thence  again  to  its  present  position. 
The  late  Marquess  of  Lothian,  whose  antiquarian  and  ecclesi- 
astical tastes  were  refined  and  learned,  had  the  foundations 
of  the  church  excavated  and  marked  out  in  gravel,  so  that 
walls,  pillars,  doors,  &c.,  can  be  easily  traced.  The  church 
must  have  strongly  resembled  the  parent  Melrose  Abbey,  and 
the  stones  of  it  are  to  be  met  with  all  over  the  valley.  Many 
of  the  remains  of  its  furnishings, — pieces  of  stained  glass, 
portions  of  the  great  bell  (which  was  found  smashed  on  the 
ground  amongst  the  charred  ruins),  earthenware  vessels,  uten- 

(56) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

sils,  and  implements, — have  been  recovered.  The  Abbey  never 
really  recovered  the  fire  of  1544,  and  with  the  troubles  of 
the  Church,  and  the  shadow  of  destruction  resting  upon  her, 
no  one  had  the  heart  to  begin  the  re-building  and  restoration. 
The  Reformation  of  1560,  therefore,  found  Newbattle  Abbey 
partially  a  blackened  ruin,  and  hasting  to  decay  of  every 
kind. 

In  a  small  room  off  the  dining  room  in  Newbattle  House 
as  it  at  present  stands,  there  are  several  interesting  pictures 
and  portraits.  Chief  among  these  are  the  cabinet-sized  panels 
representing  Mark  Ker,  Abbot,  and  afterwards  Commendator 
and  owner,  of  Newbattle,  father  of  the  first  Earl  of  Lothian ; 
and  the  companion  portrait  of  his  wife,  second  daughter  of 
the  fourth  Earl  of  Rothes, — works  that  are  both  ascribed  to 
Sir  Antonio  More.  The  Commendator  is  seen  in  half-length, 
with  his  face  in  three-quarters  to  the  left.  He  wears  a  black 
cap,  and  is  clad  in  a  plain  black  dress,  with  small  white  collar 
and  ruffles  at  throat  and  wrists.  The  hands  are  both  visible 
in  front,  the  left  holding  a  brown  glove,  and  wearing,  on  the 
index  finger,  a  gold  ring  set  with  a  skull  in  white  enamel.  The 
face,  with  its  short  brown  beard,  dark  blue  eyes,  and  long, 
firmly-set  mouth,  wears  a  particularly  resolute  expression, — and 
one  can  believe  the  original  of  the  picture  to  have  been  quite  a 
man  apt  to  bear  hardly  upon  the  poor  expelled  monks,  who 
complained  that  he  "  wald  nevir  gif  thame  worth  ane  penny 
ti  leif  on."  His  spouse  is  a  pleasant,  house-wifely  little 
figure,  wearing  a  prim  white  cap  and  a  black  dress  with  crimson 
sleeves.  Her  left  hand  supports  a  small  black  tablet  or  slate, 
upon  which  musical  notes  are  marked  in  white,  and  she  points 
towards  it  with  the  forefinger  of  her  right.  Both  pictures 
bear  the  date  of  1551,  but  the  inscriptions  have  hardly  the 
appearance  of  being  contemporary  with  their  execution ;  and  in 
the  year  named  the  painter  to  whom  the  works  are  ascribed  had 
not  yet  been  in  England.  More  came  to  London  about  three 
years  later,  just  before  the  marriage  of  Mary  Tudor,  on  the 
25th  of  July,  1554,  when  he  was  commissioned  by  Philip  II. 
of  Spain  to  paint  the  portrait  of  that  Queen,  which  is  preserved 
in  Madrid.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  Commendator  may 
have  visited  Holland  in  1551,  and  been  then  painted  by  More, 
and  that  the  portrait  of  his  wife  may  have  been  executed  in 
Scotland  by  another  artist,  though  on  a  similar  scale,  and  as 
a  companion  work. 

(57) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

The  statement  in  Douglas's  Peerage  that  Mark  Ker  took 
holy  orders  seems  to  be  a  mistake.  It  appears  probable  that 
he  was  never  more  than  lay  Abbot  of  Newbattle, — for  on  his 
appointment  on  the  5th  of  December,  1547,  the  original  man- 
date for  which  is  reprinted,  from  the  Papal  archives,  in 
Maziere  Brady's  "  Episcopal  Succession,"  the  jurisdiction  and 
the  revenues  (except  such  part  of  them  as  was  necessary  to 
enable  him  to  maintain  the  dignity  of  his  office),  were  especially 
reserved  to  his  predecessor,  John  Hasmall,  who  was  alive  and 
exercising  his  functions  in  1554.  This  would  account  for 
Ker's  appearance  in  the  picture  in  a  civil,  not  an  ecclesiastical, 
dress,  and  accompanied  by  his  wife  in  a  similar  panel,  indicat- 
ing that  his  marriage  did  not  date  from  a  period  after  he  had 
cast  in  his  lot  with  the  Reformers,  and  figured,  as  recorded 
by  Throckmorton,  in  the  Scottish  Parliament  of  1560,  which 
overthrew  the  Roman  hierarchy.  The  fact  is  further  corro- 
borated by  our  knowledge  that  his  son,  afterwards  first  Earl 
of  Lothian,  was  of  sufficient  age  in  1577  to  be  appointed  Master 
of  Requests.  The  date  of  the  marriage  is,  however,  doubtful. 

The  church,  having  fallen  into  decay,  was  rebuilt  a  stone- 
throw  from  its  ancient  site  (at  the  spot  now  known  as  the 
Lothian  Vault),  and  was  again  removed  and  rebuilt  where  it 
now  stands, — the  same  stones  for  the  most  part  as  constituted 
the  old  Abbey  church. 


(5«J 


IV. 

WORSHIP,  LIFE  AND  WORK  IN  THE  ABBEY. 

THE  earliest  worship  in  the  Newbattle  valley  is  shrouded 
in  the  deepest  obscurity.     Whether  St.  Mungo  or  any 
other  of  the  earliest  Christian  missionaries  proclaimed 
Christ  in  the  valley  cannot  now  be  determined.     Cer- 
tainly  the  early   Culdee   Church   had   its   place   and 
footing  all  over  Eastern  Midlothian.     Some  account  of  it  and 
of  the  transition  to  the  Roman  period  of  Scottish  Church  his- 
tory seems  to  be  called  for. 

The  Roman  period  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  when  it 
came  under  the  shadow  of  St.  Peter's,  stretches  from  noo- 
1500.  In  the  old  church  of  Ruthwell,  a  few  miles  from 
Dumfries,  there  stands  an  enormous  stone  cross  more  than 
seventeen  feet  high,  which  has  a  history  of  almost  unparalleled 
interest  and  charm.  It  is  a  richly-carved  Runic  cross,  similar 
in  appearance  to  those  which  are  found  in  lona  and  the  West 
Highlands,  and  is  all  covered  over  with  sculptures  and  writing. 
So  strong  had  the  Puritan  influence  from  England  grown  in 
Scotland,  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  that  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Church  ordered  this  cross,  which  from 
time  immemorial  had  stood  inside  the  church  of  Ruthwell,  to 
be  removed,  as  a  monument  of  idolatry.  The  relic  was 
ignominiously  thrown  down  on  its  face,  and  left  lying  for 
about  a  hundred  years  on  the  pavement  of  the  church;  but  in 
1772  some  zealous  parishioners  took  "the  accursed  thing" 
out  and  threw  it  into  the  graveyard,  where  it  was  broken  into 
several  pieces,  and  where  it  lay  for  many  long  years,  as 
neglected  and  forgotten  as  the  ancestral  graves  which  formed 
its  resting-place.  No  one  knew  or  cared  to  know  what  a 
priceless  witness  to  the  faith  of  Christ,  whose  distinctive 
emblem  and  crest  it  was,  —  an  emblem  of  which  no  true 
Christian  can  ever  feel  ashamed, — lay  covered  up  with  rubbish 
and  overgrown  with  grass  in  that  neglected  God's  Acre. 

But  in  the  year  1802,  Dr  Duncan,  the  enterprising 
and  enlightened  pastor  of  the  parish,  —  the  founder  of 

(59) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

savings  -  banks,  —  raised  it  up  and  pieced  it  together, 
and  lately  it  has  been  re-erected  in  its  pristine  position 
inside  the  church,  where  it  had  stood  before  for  nearly 
a  thousand  years.  The  deciphering  of  what  has  now  become 
famous  as  "  The  Ruthwell  Cross  "  is  a  marvellous  story,  and 
one  of  the  greatest  triumphs  of  scholarship  in  modern  times. 
The  stone  is  all  covered  with  sculptures  of  Scripture  scenes, 
most  of  them  from  the  life  of  our  Lord;  but  round  the  edge 
of  the  arms  of  the  cross  are  long  lines  of  inscription  in  Runic 
letters,  and  the  interpretation  of  these  has  been  at  last  arrived 
at  in  the  following  extraordinary  manner.  In  the  year  1823, 
a  German  scholar  was  making  a  literary  pilgrimage  through 
Northern  Italy,  and  in  the  old  conventual  library  of  Vercelli 
he  by  accident  came  upon  an  ancient  yellow  parchment,  on 
which,  among  other  things,  was  written,  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 
language,  a  short  poem,  entitled  "  The  Dream  of  the  Holy 
Rood."  He  felt  deeply  inteiested  in  discovering  this  scrap 
of  old  English  sacred  minstrelsy  in  a  land  so  far  away,  and  in 
so  unlikely  a  quarter;  and  after  rendering  it  carefully  into 
modern  English,  he  saw  to  his  infinite  surprise  that  it  was 
almost  identical  with  the  hypothetical  translation  of  the  Runic 
letters  on  the  old  stone  in  the  Dumfriesshire  church.  After 
a  great  deal  of  elaborate  research,  it  has  been  finally  settled 
that  the  Runic  writing  on  the  Ruthwell  Cross  is  a  copy  of  an 
ancient  English  poem,  composed  probably  by  Caedmon,  and 
was  carved  about  the  year  665  A. p.  Indeed,  on  the  top  of 
the  cross  the  words  are  written — "  Caedmon  made  me."  It 
was  therefore  about  the  close  of  the  seventh  century  of  our 
Christian  era  that  this  religious  poem — which  seems  to  have 
been  quite  current  and  popular  in  England  and  the  south  of 
Scotland — was  put  into  a  more  durable  form  on  this  stone  cross. 
It  is  the  "  Story  of  the  Cross,"  as  told  by  a  British  Christian 
of  the  seventh  century,  in  simple  language,  and  with  genuine 
feeling. 

Here  is  the  Ruthwell  inscription  put  into  modern  English. 
The  idea  is  that  a  Christian  falls  asleep,  and  sees  the  Cross, 
in  a  vision,  surrounded  by  angels ;  and  the  Cross  breaks  forth 
into  a  soliloquy,  and  tells  the  story  of  what  happened  to  it 
and  its  Divine  Bearer  on  the  ever-memorable  Crucifixion  Day 
— the  darkest  day  in  history  : — 

(60) 


WORSHIP,    LIFE    AND   WORK   IN   THE   ABBEY. 

"  'Twas  many  a  year  ago, 
I   yet  remember   it, 
That  I  was  hewn  down 
At  the  wood's  end. 

Then  men  bare  me  upon  their  shoulders 
Until  they  set  me  down  upon  a  hill. 
Then  saw  I  tremble 
The  whole  extent  of  earth. 
He  mounted  me ; 

I  trembled  when  He  embraced  me ; 
Yet  dared  I  not  to  bow  earthwards. 
I  raised  the  powerful   King 
The  Lord  of  the  Heavens. 
They  pierced  me  with  dark  nails. 
They  reviled  us  both  together. 
I   was  all  stained  with  Blood, 
Poured  from  His  side, 
The  shadow  went  forth 
Pale  under  the  welkin. 
All  creation  wept, 
They  mourned  the  fall  of  their  King." 

This  is  the  "  testimony  of  the  rocks  "  to  the  faith  of 
Christ, — a  sermon  in  stone,  preached  twelve  hundred  years  ago ; 
but  still  its  voice  is  heard  proclaiming  that  faith  wherein  we 
stand,  the  faith  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  of  to-day,  as  it 
was  in  that  early  Christian  age.  It  is  the  same  old  Gospel 
to-day  as  it  was  yesterday,  and  as  it  will  be  for  ever. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century  (about  1060) 
the  Culdee  Church,  however,  which  was  then  about  five  hun- 
dred years  old,  showed  unmistakable  signs  of  decay  and 
dissolution.  Scottish  Christianity  seems  to  march  in  epochs 
of  five  hundred  years  : — five  hundred  years  of  heathen  dark- 
ness ;  five  hundred  years  of  the  Culdees ;  five  hundred  years  of 
Rome;  and  now  we  are  in  the  midst  of  another  such  cycle. 

But  the  old  enthusiasm  of  the  first  lona  missionaries  had 
gone  off,  and  the  torch  which  they  had  lit  showed  signs  of 
flickering ;  the  Story  of  the  Cross  as  was  told  by  them  with 
so  much  zeal  and  fire  to  the  heathen  Picts,  ceased  to  interest 
them.  Their  numbers  fell  off;  their  doctrines  became  loose 
and  erroneous,  and  they  ceased  to  perform  their  ministerial 
functions  with  vigour  and  effect.  There  was  a  dead  pause' 
in  the  history  of  Scottish  Christianity  in  the  last  half  of  the 
tenth  and  the  early  years  of  the  eleventh  centuries ;  Christianity 
ceased  to  spread,  and  there  was  a  danger  of  a  lamentable 
relapse  into  heathenism.  In  many  cases  the  monasteries  were 
deserted,  and  the  revenues  which  had  accumulated  in  course  of 
ages  were  used  and  enjoyed  by  laymen.  At  Dunblane 

(61) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

(founded  by  the  Culdee,  St.  Blane),  religion  sank  so  low  that 
the  voices  of  devotion  ceased  altogether,  save  for  one  solitary 
chaplain  who  mumbled  off  a  lifeless  office  in  a  roofless  church. 

And  now,  when  the  Scottish  Church  showed  symptoms 
of  failing  health  and  vigour,  Rome  stepped  in.  The  Church 
of  Rome  was  then  by  far  the  most  vigorous,  as  it  was  also 
the  largest  branch  of  Catholic  Christendom,  and  as  yet  it  was 
almost  entirely  free  of  those  peculiar  errors  which  afterwards 
disfigured  it,  and  finally  worked  its  doom.  Its  monastic 
orders  were  spreading  all  over  Europe,  and  by  their  vigorous 
preaching  and  earnest  lives  of  devoted  self-denial,  were  bring- 
ing in  the  nations  one  by  one  to  the  obedience  of  the  Church. 
And  thus  the  "  Shadow  of  St.  Peter's  "  stretched  westwards 
and  westwards,  till,  first  the  Gallican  Church  of  France,  which 
used  to  be  distinct  and  independent  of  Rome,  came  under  the 
Pope,  and  then  the  shadow  crossed  the  narrow  silver  streak 
that  separates  our  little  rocky  isle  in  the  north-west  of  Europe 
from  the  great  mainland,  and  next  the  Church  of  England, 
which  for  ages  had  been  free  and  national  and  self-ruled,  of 
which  the  thirty-seventh  article  of  the  English  Church  was 
quite  as  true  then  as  it  is  now, — "  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome 
hath  no  jurisdiction  in  this  realm  of  England," — was  drawn 
in,  and  the  Roman  Ritual  ousted  the  ancient  Saxon  character- 
istics; and  then  the  shadow  moved  northwards,  and  covered 
Scotland,  so  that  by  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  almost 
every  trace  of  the  old  Culdees  had  vanished,  and  the  Church 
of  Caledonia,  like  the  Church  of  the  South,  had  conformed 
to  the  law  and  order  of  what  was  really  the  strongest,  the 
greatest,  and  the  most  missionary  Church  of  mediaeval  ages ; 
and  the  end  of  it  was  that  all  Europe,  save  Russia,  Turkey, 
and  Greece,  lay  under  the  shadow  of  St.  Peter's. 

In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  it  is  related  how,  when  St. 
Peter  walked  abroad  at  eventide  in  Jerusalem,  his  shadow, 
as  it  fell  on  the  sick  and  maimed  in  the  streets  of  the  Holy 
City,  caused  them  to  be  healed.  They  even  brought  the  sick 
out  and  laid  them  on  couches  in  the  streets  and  lanes,  "  so 
that  at  the  least  the  shadow  of  Peter  passing  by,  might  over- 
shadow some  of  them."  Whatever  evil  and  deadly  influence  the 
shadow  of  that  Church  which  claims  to  be  founded  on  St. 
Peter  may  have  had  in  later  times, — however  true  it  may  be 
that  it  became  a  deadly  night-shade, — its  influence  at  this 
time  was  all  for  good. 

(62) 


WORSHIP,   LIFE   AND   WORK   IN   THE   ABBEY. 

Wherever  the  shadow  reached,  it  left  behind  it  enduring 
memorials  of  its  presence.  We  are  still  surrounded  by,  and 
many  of  us  worship  every  Sunday  in,  stately  sanctuaries  built 
by  her  hands;  the  present  parishes  of  Scotland  were  all  plan- 
ned and  mapped  out  by  her;  three  out  of  the  four  Scottish 
Universities,  and  most  of  our  great  schools,  were  her  creations ; 
almost  all  our  national  institutions  were  of  her  invention; 
the  very  soil  on  which  we  live,  and  which  is  nourishing  us 
to-day,  was  reclaimed  by  her  assiduity  from  being  a  rocky 
dreary  waste,  covered  over  in  many  places  with  the  impene- 
trable Caledonian  Forest,  into  a  rich  agricultural  possession ; 
the  monks  of  Newbattle  were  the  first  workers  of  coal  in 
Scotland,  and  by  developing  the  resources  of  the  earth,  became 
the  fathers  of  Britain's  industrial  greatness;  all  over  the  coun- 
try still,  there  are  remains  of  her  wisdom,  her  energy,  her 
unwearied  and  well-directed  labours.  "  This  land  that  was 
desolate  is  become  as  the  garden  of  Eden."  We  dwell  in  that 
land  which  God  gave  to  our  fathers,  and  we  have  entered  into 
their  labours. 

This  was  how  the  great  ecclesiastical  change  from  Culdee- 
ism  to  Rome  was  effected.  After  the  Norman  Conquest  of 
England  (1066)  thousands  of  Englishmen  sought  refuge  in 
Scotland  from  the  tyranny  of  William  the  Conquerer;  and 
these  brought  with  them  across  the  Border  their  customs,  their 
rites,  and  in  some  cases  their  priests,  who,  like  the  whole  of 
England,  had  become  subject  to  Rome.  But  the  proximate 
cause  was  the  marriage  of  Malcolm  Canmore,  King  of  Scots, 
in  1070,  to  Margaret,  the  granddaughter  of  an  English  king. 
She  too  had  been  brought  up  in  the  English  Church,  and  she 
became  the  great  leavener  of  Scotland. 

Her  name  signifies  "a.  pearl," — and  a  pearl  she  was,  for 
her  life,  though  spent  in  the  luxury  of  the  Royal  Court  of  Scot- 
land, never  dimmed  its  saintly  lustre;  in  the  midst  of  her 
manifold  queenly  avocations,  her  pure  and  beautiful  soul  often 
stole  away  to  Him  who  had  bought  it  with  His  precious  blood. 
Her  heart  was  firmly  fixed  where  true  joys  were  alone  to  be 
found.  In  the  midst  of  a  beautiful  country,  of  which  she  was 
the  beloved  sovereign,  she  sighed  for  a  better  country,  that 
is  an  heavenly.  Though  wearing  the  crown  of  a  land  of 
heroes  and  patriots,  —  Duncan  and  Macbeth,  Ossian  and 
Columba, — she  reached  forth  to  the  Crown  that  fadeth  not 
away. 

(63) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW-BOTTLE. 

She  built  numberless  churches  and  monasteries,  and  placed 
a  useful  and  vigorous  ministry  in  them,  sweeping  out  the  few 
weak  and  corrupt  Culdee  clergy  that  were  left ;  she  would  not 
rest  until  she  saw  the  laws  of  God  and  His  Church  observed 
throughout  all  her  realm.  She  was  devoted  to  her  husband, 
and  when  on  her  dying  bed  she  received  news  that  he  and 
her  three  sons  were  slain  on  the'battlefield,  she  gave  God  thanks 
in  these  words: — "I  thank  Thee,  O  my  God,  that  in  this 
last  period  of  my  life,  Thou  makest  my  soul  pass  through 
terrible  trials.  But  I  hope  they  will  serve  to  cleanse  and  refine 
it,  and  consume  the  dross  of  my  sins.  O,  my  Saviour  Jesus, 
who  by  the  will  of  my  Father,  and  co-operation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  didst  blot  out  my  sins  and  deliver  me  from  my  evils, 
by  Thy  Sacred  Body  and  Precious  Blood,  grant  that  I  may 
adhere  to  Thy  holy  commandments,  and  never  suffer  me  to 
be  separated  from  Thee."  And  having  whispered,  "  Lord 
Jesu,  deliver  me,"  she  gently  took  her  departure  to  the  Bosom 
of  Christ ! 

She  was  laid  to  rest  in  Dunfermline  Abbey,  which  she 
herself  had  built  in  the  place  where  her  royal  nuptials  had 
been  celebrated,  and  it  was  a  great  shrine  for  pilgrims  for  ages. 
Her  dust  was  afterwards  laid  in  the  chapel  in  Edinburgh 
Castle,  still  called  "  St.  Margaret's  Chapel,"  from  which, 
it  is  said,  there  breathed  out  the  fragrance  of  odorous  spices 
and  the  flowers  of  spring.  She  was  for  several  centuries 
regarded  as  the  Patron  and  saintly  Protectress  of  Scotland,  as 
she  undoubtedly  was  the  restorer  of  the  Faith  of  Christ  in 
our  land.  There  is  a  legend  that  before  the  battle  of  Largs 
(1263)  a  poor  crippled  soldier  saw  her  in  a  vision,  with  crowned 
head  and  stately  steps,  and  followed  by  a  train  of  the  white- 
robed,  going  seawards  to  do  battle  for  Scotland,  her  beloved 
fatherland;  just  as  once,  at  Glastonbury  in  England,  the 
monastery  sacristan  at  dusk  entertained  two  strangers  in  white, 
who  declared  they  had  to  be  off  betimes  in  the  morning,  to 
strike  for  Scotland  at  Bannockburn.  It  was  firmly  believed 
long  ago  that  it  was  through  St.  Margaret's  influence  that  the 
Norse  galleys  were  swept  on  to  the  fatal  rocks,  and  that  the 
land  of  the  Thistle  and  the  Heather,  and  the  Burning  Bush, 
remained  free  and  unfettered  as  the  waves  that  boom  around 
its  iron-bound  coasts  ! 

After  her  death,  the  work  of  establishing  the  Church  was 
(64) 


WORSHIP,   LIFE   AND   WORK  IN   THE   ABBEY. 

taken  up  with  almost  as  much  vigour  by  David  L,  well  called 
by  his  successor  in  the  throne,  "  the  sair  sanct  for  the  Croun," 
because  of  the  enormous  sums  which  he  spent  from  the  royal 
excehequer  in  erecting  bishoprics,  and  building  and  endowing 
cathedrals  and  monasteries.  The  whole  country  had  been 
divided  into  parishes,  the  same  as  exist  to-day,  and  in  hundreds 
of  cases  the  same  old  gray  arching  roof  covers  God's  worship- 
ping children  as  covered  their  ancestors  in  that  dim  and  distant 
age  of  long  ago. 

But  the  greatest  step  of  all  was  the  division  of  Scotland 
into  dioceses,  over  which  a  bishop  or  chief  pastor  was  placed. 
St.  Andrews  was  founded  by  Queen  Margaret  about  1090,  and 
in  time  it  became  the  "  Canterbury  of  Scotland,"  and  the 
seat  of  the  Archbishop  of  all  Scotland  north  of  the  Forth.  It  is 
chronicled  that  its  ritual  and  discipline  and  learning  were  un- 
equalled all  over  the  world.  One  of  its  earliest  bishops  was 
described  on  a  stone  slab  which  was  raised  near  the  high  altar, 
as  "  a  straight  pillar  of  the  Church,  a  bright  window,  a  sweet 
censer,  and  a  melodious  bell."  Ever  after  1329  the  Arch- 
bishop of  St.  Andrews  had  the  right  of  crowning  the  kings 
of  Scotland  on  the  old  coronation-stone  at  Scone. 

The  See  of  Glasgow  was  established  about  the  year  noo, 
and  in  time  it  became  the  seat  of  the  Archbishop  or  Primate 
of  all  Scotland  south  of  the  Forth.  The  noble  cathedral  of 
St.  Mungo,  as  it  now  stands, — "  The  Salisbury  of  Scotland," 
— though  preceded  by  several  stately  churches,  was  built  in 
1225,  with  the  proceeds  of  a  collection  made  all  over  Scotland, 
in  every  church,  by  order  of  the  Provincial  Council.  Vast 
sums  came  in  from  other  countries ;  indeed  it  may  be  said  that 
it  was  built  with  the  offerings  of  universal  Christendom.  The 
Bishoprics  of  Galloway,  Aberdeen,  and  Moray  were  founded 
by  Queen  Margaret  about  1080-1090;  Caithness  in  1153; 
Brechin,  Dunblane,  Dunkeld,  Dornoch,  and  Ross  by  King 
David,  "the  sair  sanct,"  about  1150.  For  long  the  Orkney  and 
Shetland  isles  were  under  the  Norwegian  Bishops,  and  were 
quite  separate  from  ecclesiastical  Scotland;  their  Cathedral 
was  Christchurch  in  Bergen.  Every  new  bishop  on  coming 
over  from  Norway  was  first  put  to  the  test  of  draining,  at  one 
draught,  an  ancient  goblet,  which  was  said  to  have  belonged 
to  St.  Magnus,  the  Orcadian  patron.  In  1471  these  northern 
isles  were  joined  to  the  Scottish  Church  and  made  into  z 
Bishopric  under  the  primacy  of  St  Andrews. 
E  (65) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

It  was  not  without  a  struggle,  but  in  course  of  time  the 
Roman  Canon  law  and  constitution  became  universal,  and  were 
found  to  work  well.  A  great  question,  however,  arose  in  the 
twelfth  century  as  to  the  ecclesiastical  authority  to  which  the 
Church  of  Scotland  was  amenable.  The  Archbishop  of  York 
claimed  to  have  jurisdiction  over  all  Scotland,  and  asserted 
his  right  to  consecrate  the  Scottish  bishops.  After  a  severe 
contest,  in  which  Scottish  national  feeling  was  more  strongly 
intensified  and  consolidated  than  ever  it  had  been  before,  and 
King,  bishops,  priests,  and  people  all  stood  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  as  one  man,  for  their  land  and  liberties,  it  was 
decreed  by  Rome  that  the  Church  of  Scotland  should  be  re- 
sponsible to  no  ecclesiastical  power  whatever,  but  be  directly 
subject  to  the  Pope,  and  be  his  special  child.  The  late 
occupant  of  the  Papal  chair  (Pope  Leo),  in  a  recent  famous 
pastoral,  says  : — "  The  Roman  Pontiffs  took  these  sees  under 
their  especial  protection,  and  treated  them  with  special  favour, 
and  the  Church  of  Scotland  was  the  special  daughter  of  the 
Apostolic  See,  and  subject  to  no  other."  Hence,  pilgrimages 
to  Rome  became  very  frequent  on  the  part  both  of  prelates 
and  nobles, — as  also  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem.  So 
that  just  as  wise  men  came  from  the  distant  East  to  see  where 
Christ  was  born,  so  devout  men  journeyed  from  the  far  West 
to  see  where  He  had  been  buried  ! 

During  all  this  age,  we  are  told  that  preaching  could  not 
be  heard  for  the  sound  of  hammers  and  trowels,  so  great  was 
the  zeal  and  energy  of  the  Church  in  rearing  ecclesiastical 
edifices.  The  stately  houses  of  God,  which  to-day  are  dotted 
all  over  this  land  of  mountain  and  of  flood,  were  largely  the 
offspring  of  this  age  of  wonderful  activity,  and  absolutely 
unparalleled  generosity  and  self-sacrifice.  God  received  the 
best  of  everything ;  the  Church  did  not  keep  her  alabaster  box 
all  to  herself;  she  gladly  broke  it  over  the  Redeemer's  feet; 
and  the  House  of  God  was  filled  with  the  odour  of  the  oint- 
ment. 

I  have  not  space  to  speak  of  the  Monastic  system,  which 
became  so  widespread,  so  powerful,  and  so  useful.  The 
white-robed  Cistercian  Monks  were  found  at  Melrose,  New- 
battle,  Sweetheart,  Culross,  &c. ;  the  black-gowned  Benedic- 
tines at  Dunfermline,  Arbroath  (whose  good-hearted  abbot 
hung  the  renowned  Inchcape  bell  to  warn  storm-tost  mariners 

(66) 


WORSHIP,    LIFE   AND    WORK  IN   THE   ABBEY. 

off  the  fatal  rock),  Coldingham,  &c. ;  the  Cluniacs  at  Paisley 
and  Crossraguel ;  the  Augustinians  at  Jedburgh,  Holyrood, 
Cambuskenneth,  Scoon.  Hundreds  of  such  religious  houses 
were  scattered  over  broad  Scotland  from  lonely  Kirkwall  in 
the  far  north,  to  the  yellow  Solway  shore;  and  they  were 
for  long  centuries  centres  of  learning  and  labour,  of  sweet- 
ness and  light,  both  in  spiritual  and  temporal  affairs,  homes 
of  devotion  and  contemplation,  calm  refuges  for  human  spirits 
wearied  of  the  world. 

These  men  combined  both  the  pious  and  the  practical ; 
they  were  both  Marthas  and  Marys,  serpents  and  doves;  their 
crest  was  not  a  mere  bent  knee,  but  an  uplifted  hand  as  well. 
They  looked  well  to  their  spiritual  harvest,  and  yet  neglected 
not  the  husbandry  of  the  fields  around  them,  which,  even  after 
the  lapse  of  three  centuries,  are  still  rich  and  bountiful. 

"  It  is  good  for  us  to  be  here,"  was  the  inscription  written 
over  the  arched  doorway  of  every  Cistercian  monastery, 
"  where  man  lives  more  purely,  falls  more  rarely,  rises  more 
quickly,  treads  more  cautiously,  rests  more  securely,  dies  more 
happily,  is  pardoned  more  easily,  and  rewarded  more  plente- 
ously."  It  was  by  one  of  the  same  Cistercian  Order  which 
colonised  Melrose  and  so  many  other  southern  Abbeys,  that 
the  beautiful  hymn  (so  great  a  favourite  in  the  Church  of 
Scotland  to-day)  was  written, — "  Jesus,  the  very  thought  of 
Thee,  with  sweetness  fills  my  breast."  If  you  look  up  on 
one  of  the  transept  walls  of  Melrose  Abbey,  you  will  see  an 
inscription,  which  embalms  and  embodies  the  same  exalted 
sentiment  and  everlasting  truth,  carved  up  by  some  old  monk 
of  Melrose  ages  ago;  it  still  stands,  though  worn  and  weather- 
beaten,  in  these  words,  "  When  Jesus  comes,  the  shadow 
goes!"  In  the  stately  pile  of  St.  David's,  lying  at  the  foot 
of  the  green  swelling  Eildon  Hills,  over  which  Thomas  the 
Rhymer  had  roamed,  the  writer  of  that  line  may  have  watched 
the  ever-changing  lights  and  shadows  sweeping  across  the  hills 
on  a  summer  day,  with  the  sweet  breath  of  the  snow-wreathed 
hawthorn  blossom  coming  in  at  his  little  groined  window,  and 
the  thought  occurred  to  him,  that  when  Jesus, .  "  the  Light  of 
the  world,"  shines  into  the  soul,  the  shadows  flee  away,  just 
like  the  fleeting  patches  of  darkness  on  these  rolling  hills,  as 
the  day  strengthens.  Or  it  may  have  been  at  night,  when  the 
gloom  was  over  mountain  and  valley,  and  the  silvery  Tweed 

(67) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

rippled  on  in  the  darkness,  singing  its  grand  old  eternal  song 
of  "  men  may  come  and  men  may  go,  but  I  flow  on  for  ever," 
as  it  is  doing  just  now  as  I  write  by  its  banks,  when  all  at 
once  the  monastery  bell  rang  out  for  the  midnight  office;  and 
on  that  ancient  altar,  beneath  which  Bruce's  heart  lay  buried, 
and  before  which  many  a  Scottish  king  had  thrown  his  soul 
at  Christ's  feet  and  begged  succour  for  battle  and  pilgrimage, 
the  tapers  slowly  twinkled  into  flame,  and  the  great  dark  echo- 
ing house  of  God  was  brightened  with  the  kindly  glow ;  so 
Christ,  thought  that  solitary  watcher,  is  the  light  of  the  world 
and  of  the  soul.  "  O  happy  lights,"  was  the  language  of  his 
heart  (the  language  of  a  great  soul  only  lately  removed  from 
being  an  ornament  in  the  same  communion),  as  he  knelt  in 
adoration,  making  intercession  for  the  silent  world,  which  lay 
asleep  around  him, — 

"  O  Happy  Lights  !     O  Happy  Lights  ! 
Watching  my  Jesus  livelong  nights, 
How  close  you  cluster  round   His  Throne, 
Dying  so  meekly  one  by  one 
As  each  his  faithful  watch  has  done! 
Could  I  with  you  but  take  my  turn, 
And  burn  with  love  of  Him,  and  burn 
Till  Love  had  wasted  me  like  you, 
Sweet  Lights,  what  better  could  I  do? 

"  O  Happy  Flowers  !     O  Happy  Flowers  ! 
How  quietly  for  hours  and  hours, 
In  dead  of  night,  in  cheerful  day, 
Close  to  my  own  dear  Lord  you  stay, 
Until  you  gently  fade  away  ! 
O  Happy  Flowers,  what  would  I  give 
In  your  sweet  place  all  day  to  live, 
And  then  to  die,  my  service  o'er, 
Softly  as  you  do,  at  His  door  !" 

For  five  hundred  years  the  Church  of  Rome  permeated 
with  its  institutions  the  whole  of  Scottish  life ;  but  towards  the 
close  of  that  period,  what  happened  five  centuries  before  to 
the  Culdees,  happened  to  Rome, — the  shadow  of  St.  Peter's 
began  to  be  a  shadow  of  death  and  decay,  and  Scotland  began 
to  languish  under  it.  Secondary  doctrines  of  the  Church  were 
exaggerated  into  importance,  and  doctrines  which  had  no 
right  whatever  to  be  there,  and  which  Christ  and  the 
Apostles  never  sanctioned,  took  up  the  chief  place  in  the  Roman 
Theology,  to  the  humiliation,  if  not  practical  exclusion,  of 
Him  who  is  the  centre  of  Christianity,  for  Christianity  is 
Christ  and  Christ  only.  The  Church  had  built  its  tabernacles, 
and  beautiful  tabernacles  they  were, — on  the  hill  of  vision,  but 

(68) 


WORSHIP,   LIFE   AND   WORK  IN   THE   ABBEY. 

it  began  to  look  at  Moses  and  Elias  and  the  poor  human  follow- 
ers of  the  Saviour,  rather  than  at  "  Jesus  only  !"  And  so  it 
happened  to  them, — as  it  will  always  happen  under  similar 
circumstances,  in  whatever  Church  and  age  it  may  be, — that 
the  old  Melrose  inscription  was  reversed,  "  Jesus  went,  and  the 
shadow  came!" 

In  its  best  and  purest  days  the  worship  of  the  Cistercians 
at  Newbattle  consisted  of  the  stated  observance  of  the  "Hours" 
at  which  all  the  brethren  were  expected  to  be  present  by  day 
and  night.  Nocturns  at  midnight  were  said  in  memory  of 
Christ's  Nativity,  when  "  It  came  upon  the  midnight  clear, 
that  glorious  song  of  old."  At  three  in  the  morning  Lauds 
were  sung  in  remembrance  of  Christ's  Betrayal  and  Resurrec- 
tion. At  six  in  the  morning  came  Prime,  recalling  Christ's 
Mockery  before  Pilate,  at  which  the  hymn,  "  Jam  lucis," 
was  sung,  as  well  as  Psalms  i.,  ii.,  cxix.,  with  a  few  prayers. 
Terce  succeeded  at  9  a.m.,  in  commemoration  of  Christ's  sen- 
tence to  death  and  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  when  Psalm 
cxxi.  and  the  hymn,  "  Nunc  sancte  nobis  spiritus,"  were  sung. 
At  mid-day  Sext  was  offered,  in  memory  of  the  Crucifixion, 
at  which  were  sung  the  hymn,  "  Rector  potens,"  and  Psalm 
cxxv.  Nones  followed  at  3  p.m.,  in  memory  of  Christ's  Death, 
— "  the  ninth  hour,"  when  the  hymn,  "  Rerum  Deus  tenax 
rigor,"  and  Psalm  cxxxviii.  were  sung.  Vespers  came  at  six 
in  the  evening,  in  commemoration  of  the  Descent  from  the 
Cross ;  and  the  sacred  day, — every  day  was  sacred, — was  com- 
pleted, with  Compline  at  9  p.m.,  to  recall  the  rest  of  Jesus 
in  the  grave,  with  Psalms  iv.,  xci.,  cxxxiv.,  and  the  beautiful 
hymn,  "  Te  lucis  ante  terminum."  Masses  of  all  kinds  for 
the  living  and  the  departed  were  celebrated  at  the  various 
altars  of  the  Abbey,  many  of  them  having  special  provisions 
and  endowments  for  their  support,  some  of  them  from  royal 
personages. 

During  meals  the  brethren  heard  read  to  them  lives  of 
the  saints  and  martyrs.  At  various  intervals  during  the  day 
they  had  a  respite  for  spiritual  communion  and  meditation. 

The  rest  of  the  day  was  taken  up  with  manual  labour  of 
various  kinds, — agriculture,  building,  writing  and  illuminating, 
carpentry,  tree-planting,  mining,  mechanical  labour  of  various 
kinds.  In  a  word,  the  whole  day  was  filled  up  with  work  and 
worship,  acting  on  the  belief  that  for  a  happy  life,  as  the 
present  Pope  declares,  worship  and  work  are  the  two  essentials. 

(69) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

The  voice  from  Rome  corresponds  with  the  voice  from  New 
York,  for  Henry  Ward  Beecher  in  a  memorable  passage  de- 
clares,— "  It  is  not  work  that  kills  men,  it  is  worry.  Work 
is  healthy ;  you  can  hardly  put  more  upon  a  man  than  he  can 
bear.  Worry  is  rust  upon  the  blade.  It  is  not  the  revolution 
that  destroys  the  machinery,  but  the  friction." 

In  the  seventeenth  century  a  monk  who  had  travelled 
much  in  Scotland  described  the  race  as  an  indolent  and  lazy 
one.  Among  the  curious  letters  in  the  latest  volume  of  the  His- 
torical Manuscripts  Commission, — the  manuscripts  of  the  Duke 
of  Portland,  preserved  at  Welbeck, — is  one  from  Denis  de 
Repas,  an  ex-Capuchin  monk,  to  Sir  Edward  Harley.  It  is 
dated  September  13,  1672,  and  gives  an  amusing  account  of 
his  wanderings  in  Scotland.  This  is  how  he  writes  of  the  then 
residents  beyond  the  Border  : — "  I  may  assure  your  honour 
that  in  all  my  travels — whereof  you  shall  have  an  account 
hereafter — I  never  saw  a  nation  in  general  more  nasty,  lazy, 
and  least  ingenius  in  matter  of  manufactures  than  they  are, 
as  by  word  of  mouth  I  may  in  time  the  better  relate  to  your 
honour.  In  several  places,  though  nature  doth  afford  them 
all  manner  of  materials  to  build  houses,  they  are  so  lazy  that 
they  had  rather  lay  in  cabins  covered  hardly  with  earth  and 
turfs,  and  so  be  exposed  to  the  injury  of  the  weather,  than 
to  take  the  pain  to  build,  as  they  do  anywhere  else;  nay, 
amongst  the  Highlanders  they  live  like  savages,  and  go  half- 
naked."  The  Scotch  people  were  so  lazy,  the  monk  goes  on 
to  say,  that  they  did  not  so  much  as  bake  bread,  "  though  they 
may  have  plenty  of  corn."  "They  make  nastily  a  kind  of  stuff 
with  oat  half-grinded,  which  they  do  call, — cake, — which  hath 
no  more  taste  or  relish  than  a  piece  of  wooden  trencher.  I 
was  forced  for  two  months'  time,  in  the  north,  in  a  place  called 
Rothimay,  to  live  altogether  upon  pap  for  want  of  bread.  The 
Scotchmen  and  the  Scotch  horses  live  altogether  upon  the  same 
diet,  I  mean  upon  oats,  for  there  is  not  a  horse  in  thirty  to 
whom  hay  is  afforded ;  their  bread  is  made  with  oats,  and  so 
is  their  bonny  ale.  The  monk  adds  that  if  he  was  to  give 
his  friend  a  "  whole"  description  both  of  their  humours  and 
of  their  "  nasty  way  of  living,"  he  would  have  matter  enough 
for  a  dozen  letters. 

Certainly  in  the  best  days  of  Newbattle  Abbey  there  was 
no  idleness,  and  this  description  could  not  apply.  Worship 
and  work  were  constant  and  unremitting,  and  the  enormous 

(70) 


WORSHIP,    LIFE    AND    WORK   IN   THE   ABBEY. 

practical  works  in  fields  and  mines  and  otherwise  which  were 
carried  on,  bear  the  most  ample  testimony  to  the  zealous  acti- 
vity and  strong  intellectual  power  of  these  old  Cistercian 
fathers,  whose  motto  seems  to  have  been, — 

"  Worship  as  if  thou  wert  to  live  for  aye, 
Work  as  if  thou  wert  to  die  to-day." 

It  has  often  been  remarked  how  the  monastic  chronicles 
are  silent  regarding  the  great  events  of  contemporary  history, 
but  record  trifling  details  of  the  Abbey's  inner  history, — 
proving  the  truth  of  the  proverb, — "Blessed  is  the  nation  which 
has  no  history."  And  yet  in  history,  the  true  life  of  a  nation 
is  nourished,  fostered,  and  developed  in  these  years  of  halcyon 
calm ;  wars  are  the  physic — peace  is  the  health  of  a  people ; 
happiness,  like  light,  is  colourless  when  unbroken.  In  the 
monastic  annals  there  is  not  one  single  reference  to  the  epoch- 
making  Battle  of  Poitiers  in  732,  which  effectually  checked 
the  spread  of  Mohammedanism  across  Europe,  and  saved  the 
west  from  being  brought  under  the  sway  of  the  Crescent  in- 
stead of  the  Cross ;  but  these  cloister  chronicles  teem  instead 
with  small  petty  details,  temporal  and  spiritual,  of  the  life 
of  great  calm  and  peace  divine,  spent  in  the  dim  retreats  of 
many  a  Gothic  monastery.  And  who  shall  say  which  events 
are  the  more  important, — the  story  of  war  or  the  story  of 
worship, — and  which  the  more  useful  in  the  history  of  a  nation 
or  an  individual, — the  life  of  stir  or  the  life  of  silence  ! 

In  Longfellow's  "  Golden  Legend,"  the  monk  whose 
meditation  that  day  was  on  the  eternal  joys  of  heaven  listens 
to  the  bird's  song  in  the  greenwood  tree,  and  so  enraptured 
was  he  that  a  hundred  years  passed  away,  and  when  he  re- 
turned to  the  monastery  every  face  was  changed.  So  quietly 
and  silently  the  years  passed  over  the  old  house  of  Newbattle 
in  worship  and  work.  The  old  spirit  comes  back  as  one  thinks 
of  their  life  of  quiet,  steady  duty  : — "  This  have  I  done  for 
thee;  what  doest  thou  for  Me?" — Stenburg's  great  picture, 
which  has  moulded  history:  "  Hadst  thou  not  gone  I  had 
fled  " — the  voice  of  the  Master  to  the  father  who  in  his  cell 
was  rivetted  by  the  vision  of  Christ,  when  the  Abbey  bells 
called  him  away  to  feed  the  poor  at  the  gates,  and  on  his 
return  the  vision  was  there  still  with  a  new  message  and  call 
to  duty.  A  hundred  such  thoughts  crowd  into  the  mind  as 
one  thinks  of  these  quiet  days  which  were  summed  up  in  the 
motto, — "  laborare  est  orare." 


V. 

THE  ABBEY  ESTATES  AND  PROPERTIES, 

THE  great  business  abilities  and  resources  of  the  Cister- 
cian fathers  came  out  in  nothing  more  remarkably 
than  in  their  acquisition  and  management  of  their 
very  many  estates.  These  included  not  only  the 
whole  of  the  Newbattle  Valley,  but  many  properties 
close  at  hand,  while  they  gradually  acquired  vast  stretches  of 
land  further  away,  where  they  developed  their  agricultural, 
industrial,  pastoral,  or  mining  industries,  teaching  the  people 
their  arts  and  raising  chapels  on  the  various  estates  for  divine 
worship.  The  rule  of  the  Order  prescribed  manual  labour  as  a 
portion  of  every  day's  work,  and  it  did  not  matter  what  it  was, 
— digging  a  field,  building  a  wall,  constructing  a  cart,  winning 
the  coal,  or  herding  the  sheep,  so  long  as  the  motto  of  the 
Order  was  carried  out, — "  In  all  things  let  God  be  glorified." 
The  angel  whom  the  Almighty  sent  to  sweep  a  street-crossing 
was  as  highly  honoured  by  High  Heaven  as  the  angel  who  was 
sent  to  rule  an  empire.  One  can  see  through  the  dim  distance 
of  the  centuries  the  white-robed  field  worker  dropping  his  hay- 
rake  and  implements  and  on  bended  knee  repeating  the  celestial 
annunciation,  as  at  noon  the  Angelus  bell  rang  out  from  the 
grey  saddle-back  Abbey  tower,  and  called  the  soul  for  a 
moment  from  the  withered  grass,  so  typical  of  life,  to  the 
angelic  lily  of  immortal  beauty  and  everlasting  glory. 

In  their  Newbattle  property,  besides  working  the  fields 
and  planting  trees,  they  worked  the  coal  from  the  face  of  the 
river-bank,  marks  of  these  horizontal  or  diagonal  workings 
being  traceable  in  the  banks,  both  of  the  South  Esk  at  New- 
battle,  and  of  the  North  Esk  near  Melville, — the  holes  in  the 
banks  being  undoubtedly  primitive  attempts  at  coal-mining. 
The  well-known  historian,  ^Eneas  Sylvius  or  Piccolomini,  who 
resided  in  Scotland  for  two  years,  and  spent  the  winter  of  1413 

(72) 


THE  ABBEY  ESTATES  AND  PROPERTIES. 

amid  our  mists  and  storms,  describes  Scottish  life  in  the  first 
quarter  of  the  fifteenth  century  very  vividly, — the  small  hardy 
men,  the  fair  complaisant  women,  the  ox-hide  doors  of  the 
cottages,  the  thatched  houses,  and  unwalled  towns.  But  more 
wonderful  to  him  than  anything  was  the  relief  given  to  beggars 
at  church  doors  in  the  form  of  black  stones  or  coal, — the  great 
discovery  of  the  Newbattle  fathers. 

Cockpen  (Kokpen)  was  an  adjoining  Abbey  property,  and 
the  sweet  and  charming  ruin  covered  with  ivy,  which  to-day 
stands  not  far  from  Dalhousie  Castle,  was  a  chaplaincy  of 
Newbattle.  The  fathers  had  also  a  large  and  imposing  resi- 
dence at  Newton,  a  mile  or  two  from  Dalkeith,  which  still 
stands  and  bears  the  name  of  Monkton  Hall.  The  lower  part 
of  the  house  is  arched.  The  two  large  mansion-houses  at 
Inveresk,  known  as  Inveresk  Lodge  and  Halkerston  Lodge, 
were  residences  for  the  Newbattle  abbot  and  fathers, — giving 
them  a  pleasant  change  from  the  mild,  soft  air  of  the  New- 
battle  valley,  and  a  breath  of  the  sea  breezes,  as  well  as  a 
place  from  which  they  could  carry  on  their  extensive  agricul- 
tural and  mining  enterprises  along  the  coast.  Their  coal  was 
shipped  at  Morison's  Haven,  where  they  had  a  good  harbour 
and  quite  a  small  fleet  of  vessels  for  carrying  their  coals. 
Further  down  the  Firth,  at  Prestongrange,  they  had  another 
residence  and  extensive  coal  and  salt  industries.  And  so  down 
the  coast  other  small  properties  were  dotted,  until  Haddington 
was  reached,  where  they  owned  a  considerable  estate. 

In  Leith  they  owned  considerable  property,  to-day  covered 
by  great  store-houses ;  also  at  Greenside,  in  Edinburgh,  these 
having  been  acquired  in  1256  by  Abbot  William.  It  is  said 
they  had  also  the  right  of  cutting  wood  in  Glenartney,  which 
even  yet  is  famous  for  its  "hazel  shade."  The  Newbattle 
monks  were  famous  as  carpenters,  and  a  "  Newbottle  cart  " 
was  considered  about  as  good  and  workmanlike  a  production 
as  could  be  had  in  that  age.  There  must  have  been  large 
numbers  of  these  carts  about  the  Abbey,  as  many  would  be 
needed  for  conveying  coals,  field  work,  bringing  salt  from 
Prestongrange,  and  otherwise.  Grangemouth  had  its  name 
from  the  "  Abbot's  Grange,"  still  standing  in  that  enterprising 
shipping  town,  which  owed  its  origin  to  the  mining  industry 
of  the  Newbattle  fathers.  Newton  Grange  was  another  and 
nearer  property,  and  was  the  special  farm  of  the  monastery. 

(73) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

The  Abbey  property  included  practically  all  the  Moorfoot 
Hills,  and  the  remains  of  the  chapel  and  convent  of  Moorfoot 
are  still  traceable  at  the  farm  bearing  that  name,  situated  at 
the  foot  of  the  Powbate  glen. 

From  an  interesting  work,  "  Folk-lore  of  Scottish  Lochs 
and  Springs,"  by  James  M.  Mackinlay,  M.A.,  F.S.A.  (1893), 
I  take  the  following  extracts  : — "  A  singular  superstition  is 
or  was  till  lately  cherished,  that  Powbate  Well  completely 
fills  with  its  water  the  high  hill  on  which  it  is  situated." 
Chambers,  in  his  "  Popular  Rhymes  of  Scotland,"  gives  the 
following  particulars  about  the  spring  : — "  The  mouth,  called 
Powbate  E'e,  is  covered  over  by  a  grate  to  prevent  the  sheep 
from  falling  into  it ;  and  it  is  supposed  that  if  a  willow  wand 
is  thrown  in,  it  will  be  found  some  time  after,  peeled,  at  the 
water-haugh,  a  small  lake  at  the  base  of  the  hill,  supposed 
to  communicate  with  Powbate.  Of  course,  the  hill  is  expected 
to  break  some  day  like  a  bottle  and  do  a  great  deal  of  mischief. 
A  prophecy,  said  to  be  of  Thomas  the  Rhymer,  and  bearing 
evident  marks  of  his  style,  is  cited  to  support  the  supposition  : 

"  Powbate  an'  ye  break, 

Tak'  the  Moorfoot  in  yer  gate, 
Moorfoot  and   Mauldslie, 
Huntleycote,  a'  three, 
Five  kirks  and  an  abbacie." 

In  explanation  of  this  prophecy,  Chambers  remarks, — 
"  Moorfoot,  Mauldslie,  and  Huntleycote  are  farm  towns  in 
the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  hill.  The  kirks  are  under- 
stood to  have  been  those  of  Temple,  Carrington,  Borthwick, 
Cockpen,  and  Dalkeith ;  and  the  abbacy  was  that  of  Newbottle, 
the  destruction  of  which,  however,  has  been  anticipated  by 
another  enemy." 

The  other  portion  of  the  Moorfoot  Hills,  with  the  fine 
Herieth  or  Heriot  glen,  was  also  the  property  of  Newbattle 
Abbey,  and  there  a  chapel  stood  to  serve  the  district.  The 
shepherds,  ploughmen,  and  artizans  belonging  to  Moorfoot 
and  Heriot  were  directed  by  fathers  skilled  in  pasturage  and 
agriculture,  who  brought,  according  to  the  Cistercian  rule,  their 
practical  skill  to  bear  on  the  lands  and  hillsides  around  them. 

Over  the  Moorfoot  Hills, — which  practically  all  belonged 
to  Newbattle  Abbey, — on  the  other  side  there  was  another  rich 
pastoral  possession, — the  Vale  of  Leithen,  which  leads  down 
to  the  picturesque  town  of  Innerleithen,  the  "  St.  Ronan's 

(74) 


THE  ABBEY  ESTATES  AND  PROPERTIES. 

Well  "  of  Scott.  The  valley  was  gifted  to  the  Newbattle 
monks  by  Alexander  II.,  King  of  Scots,  as  a  return  for  the 
privilege  of  having  his  Queen,  Marie  de  Couci,  buried  in 
the  Abbey.  King  Alexander  was  the  Abbey's  chief  royal 
patron,  and  bestowed  upon  it  many  gifts  and  privileges. 
On  i pth  May,  1223,  he  visited  the  Abbey,  Abbot  Richard 
being  then  reigning,  and  ever  afterwards  he  entertained  the 
warmest  affection  for  it.  Marie  de  Couci  was  his  second  wife, 
and  he  married  her  in  1239.  In  1241  the  young  queen  said 
that  in  the  event  of  her  death  she  had  a  strong  desire  to  be 
buried  in  the  Church  of  Holy  Mary  at  Newbottle.  Her 
husband  died  before  her,  and  she  married  again,  her  second 
match  being  with  John  de  Brienne,  son  of  the  Emperor  of  the 
East.  It  is  supposed  that  she  died  in  France,  but  it  is  certain 
that  her  body  was  brought  to  Scotland,  in  performance  of  her 
vow;  and  she  was  buried  in  the  Abbey  which  her  first  husband 
dearly  loved,  and  which  both  he  and  she  had  enriched  with 
princely  benefactions.  In  what  part  of  the  Abbey  she  was 
buried  is  a  vexed  question.  A  mediaeval  writer,  quoted  by 
Father  Hay,  says  : — "  In  the  midst  of  the  Church  was  seen 
the  tomb  of  the  Queen  of  King  Alexander,  of  marble,  sup- 
ported on  six  lions  of  marble.  A  human  figure  was  placed 
reclining  on  the  tomb,  surrounded  with  an  iron  grating."  Mr 
Innes,  in  his  preface  to  the  Ballantyne  Club's  Chartulary  of 
Newbottle,  says  she  was  buried  in  what  is  now  the  flower 
garden.  The  princely  gift  of  the  Vale  of  Leithen  was  the 
offering  of  Alexander  to  the  religious  house,  which  was  to 
guard  his  queen's  remains.  A  chapel,  the  ruins  of  which  are 
still  traceable,  stood  in  the  Vale,  which  was  a  great  pastoral 
land  then,  as  now. 

The  whole  of  the  Moorfoots  would  in  these  medieval 
centuries  be  rich  in  game,  large  and  small.  In  all  probabilitv 
the  wolf,  the  boar,  and  the  wild  cat  were  denizens  of  the 
glens  and  lonely  rock-retreats  of  Powbate  and  Leithen,  while 
even  at  the  present  day  game  of  all  kinds  abounds,  and  in 
the  streams  among  the  hills  there  is  the  best  of  fishing.  The 
Hiiendean  glen,  just  above  the  ruined  Moorfoot  convent,  form- 
ing one  line  of  defence  for  the  old  castle,  still  beautiful  in 
decay,  had  its  name  from  the  fact  that  herons  in  large  numbers 
made  it  their  home,  drawn  to  the  shelter  and  hill  streams,  with 
their  abundant  minnow  and  trout.  The  fathers  would  leave 

(75) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

none  of  these  resources  unutilised,  but  would  find  scope  for 
energy  and  skill,  and  even  enjoyment,  in  the  grand  hillsides 
and  moorlands  of  the  Moorfoot,  or  Morthwaite,  as  it  was  some- 
times spelt. 

Newbattle  owned  several  large  estates  in  Haddington,  for 
which  the  Abbot  paid  "  suit  and  service  at  the  Three  Head 
Sheriff  Courts."  On  July  13,  1540,  Alexander  Belsis,  a  tenant 
of  Newbattle,  appeared  in  the  Burgh  Court  with  a  Commission 
of  Bailleny  to  repledge  a  certain  man  (name  omitted)  to  the 
Court  of  the  Abbot  of  Newbattle;  the  prisoner  was,  I  am 
certain,  only  one  of  the  Abbot's  tenants,  as  if  he  had  been 
a  monk  it  would  have  been  noted. 

Even  in  hilly,  well-watered  Peeblesshire  the  Newbattle 
fathers'  estates  were  to  be  found,  more  especially  at  Romanno 
Bridge,  the  story  of  which  may  be  told.  Among  the 
Anglo  -  Normans  who  settled  in  Scotland  during  the 
twelfth  century  was  a  person  named  Vermel,  or  Uermil, 
who  received  from  David  I.  a  grant  of  the  lands  of  Romanoch. 
His  son,  Philip  de  Vermel,  granted  a  portion  of  the  lands  to 
the  monks  of  Newbottle  between  1179  and  1189,  and  there 
were  similar  grants  to  the  canons  of  Holyrood.  One  of  the 
oldest  spellings  of  the  name  is  Rothmaneie,  meaning  in  Gaelic 
the  dwelling  of  the  monk.  There  is  no  record  nor  trace  of 
ecclesiastical  building.  Two  braesides,  one  of  which  is  still 
on  the  shrunken  estate,  while  the  other  has  been  sold,  suggest 
by  their  terraces  that  monkish  agriculture  has  been  there.  At 
a  mile's  distance,  a  small  hamlet  with  a  U.F.  kirk  is  called 
Mountain  Cross  for  Monkton  Cross.  The  original  estate  of 
the  de  Vermels  had  evidently  included  that  spot,  with  its 
cross  roads  and  cross,  though  there  are  now  neither  cross  nor 
cross  roads. 

The  great  coal  and  iron  district  in  the  West  of  Scotland, 
known  as  Monkland,  received  its  name  from  the  monks  of 
Newbattle,  whose  property  it  was.  The  population  of  the 
two  present-day  parishes  of  Old  and  New  Monkland  is  some- 
thing like  20,000,  and  it  is  interesting  to  think  of  the  Newbattle 
fathers  as  having  laid  the  earliest  foundations  of  the  giant 
commercial  enterprises  of  that  part  of  Scotland.  From  the 
Monkland  Wall  at  Newbattle,  they  carried  a  road  across  coun- 
try to  Linlithgowshire  and  Lanarkshire,  and  gradually  annexed 
fresh  properties  of  great  commercial  value.  All  the  tract  of 

(76) 


THE  ABBEY  ESTATES  AND  PROPERTIES. 

ground  from  West  Lothian  to  the  Barony  parish  of  Glasgow 
seems  to  have  been  granted  by  Malcolm  IV.  to  the  monks  of 
Neubotile.  Hence  its  name.  But  no  remains  of  the  monks' 
rule  here  exist,  save  the  name.  The  monks  do  not  seem  to 
have  settled  here.  They  had  indeed  a  chapel,  about  a  couple 
of  miles  from  New  Monkland  Church,  but  it  seemed  to  have 
been  used  for  the  most  part  for  levying  their  rents  and  the  like. 
This  district  was  distinguished  for  its  Reformational  zeal,  and 
therefore,  I  presume,  every  trace  of  the  monks'  presence  has 
been  obliterated.  With  the  changed  conditions  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  two  parishes  of  the  Monklands,  there  is  not  even 
a  legend  of  them  extant  in  this  parish.  The  Monkland  Well 
still  exists.  It  is  about  half  a  mile  from  the  Manse  of  New 
Monkland.  The  mineral  workings  have,  however,  diminished 
its  flow  greatly.  It  is  now  but  a  small  affair.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  last  century  it  seems  to  have  had  considerable  vogue 
for  its  medicinal  qualities.  It  gave  its  name, — "  The  Virtue 
Well,"  to  a  famous  seam  of  coal,  and  that  has  done  more  to 
perpetuate  its  fame  than  its  own  virtues  have  done. 


(77) 


VI. 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  BUILDINGS  OF 
NEWBATTLE  ABBEY. 


THE  growth  of  Newbattle  Abbey  as  an  ecclesiastical  pile 
was  a  gradual  affair  through  the  centuries,  and  when 
in  1385  it  was  burnt  down  by  Richard  II.  of  England 
it  had  accommodation  for  eighty  monks  and  seventy 
lay  brethren.     There  was  ample  room  for  guests,  and 
very  often  the  Bishop  and  the  whole  Synod  of  the  Diocese  were 
entertained  by  the  Abbot.     The  Abbey,  indeed,  at  the  height 
of  its  greatness  and  magnificence,   was  a  favourite  residence 
of  royalty.     In  1544  it  was  burned  down  for  the  second  time 
during  the  disastrous  expedition  dispatched  by  Henry  VIII. 
to  punish  the  Scots  for  their  refusal  to  betroth  the  infant  Queen 
Mary  to  his  son.     On  that  occasion  the  bonfires  of  what  were 
known   as   the   "bloody   betrothal"    were   a   line  of  blazing 
abbeys  from  Holyrood  to  Dunbar. 

An  old  record  says  : — "  Upon  the  i5th  day  of  May  the 
horsemen  raid  to  Newbottill  and  brynt  it,  and  oversaw  Dal- 
keith  be  the  moyane  of  George  Dowglas,  and  brynt  many 
other  tounes  theirabout.  Na  skaith  was  done  to  any  kirks, 
exceptand  thae  destroyit  the  Abbey  of  Newbottill,  and  the 
same  nicht  they  returnit  to  Leith."  The  burning  of  such  a 
pile  of  masonry  was  perhaps  but  a  partial  destruction.  In 
any  case,  it  is  related  that  a  few  years  after  the  rough  handling 
it  received  from  the  English,  the  Abbey  buildings  were  suffi- 
ciently restored  to  be  thought  a  convenient  place  for  the 
reception  of  a  Convention  of  the  Lords  of  the  party,  which 
the  Queen  Dowager  in  person  held  there  preparatory  to  declar- 
ing war  against  England  in  1557, — an  interesting  historical 
occasion  which  connects  Newbattle  with  the  great  international 
history.  The  subsequent  disappearance  of  the  ancient  Abbey 
buildings  cannot  be  accounted  for  in  the  usual  way  by  alleging 
the  violence  of  a  Reformation  mob.  The  Abbot  of  Newbattle 
of  that  day,  Mark  Ker,  whose  portrait  hangs  in  the  mansion- 

(78) 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  BUILDINGS. 

house,  embraced  so  heartily  the  principles  of  the  Reformation 
that  his  dwelling  would  probably  have  been  respected  by  the 
most  zealous  reformers ;  and  as  Newbattle  has  been  a  mansion 
for  his  descendants  continuously  since,  we  may  rather  seek  the 
cause  in  a  preference  for  modern  comfort  in  a  newer  building, 
to  the  picturesque  architecture  and  pious  and  historical  associ- 
ation's of  the  old  Abbey. 

At  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  Mark  Ker,  as  has  been 
said,  was  Abbot  of  Newbattle.  He  was  the  second  son  of 
Sir  Alexander  Ker  of  Cessford.  Renouncing  the  Roman 
Faith,  he  expelled  the  monks,  giving  the  aged  ones  a  pension 
for  life,  and  retained  the  lands  as  "  Commendator  of  New- 
bottle," — which  title,  with  all  its  privileges,  was  confirmed 
to  him  by  the  Scottish  Parliament  in  1581.  Scott  of  Scots- 
tarvit  states  that  Mark  Ker  and  his  eldest  son  of  the  same 
name,  who,  in  1606,  was  created  first  Earl  of  Lothian,  "  did 
so  metamorphose  the  building,  that  it  cannot  be  known  that 
ever  it  did  belong  to  the  Church  by  reason  of  the  fair  new 
fabrick  and  stately  edifices  built  thereon,  except  only  that 
the  old  name  and  walls  of  the  precincts  stand";  and  more 
recent  members  of  the  house  of  Lothian  have  further  extended 
and  modernised  the  structure,  the  late  Marquess  having  added 
a  sumptuous  robing  room  and  other  buildings  for  the  visit  of 
Queen  Victoria  and  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  besides  otherwise 
beautifying  and  adorning  the  mansion. 

The  form  and  design  of  the  ecclesiastical  buildings  were 
of  the  usual  Cistercian  type,  and  almost  identical  with  Melrose 
Abbey.  The  Gothic  Church  stood  with  its  great  west  door, 
pillars  and  arches,  and  at  the  side  near  the  river  the  quadrangle 
with  its  open  court  surrounded  by  cloisters,  probably  in  two, 
possibly  in  some  places  in  three  storeys.  On  the  south  side 
of  the  court  was  the  Refectory,  and  on  the  east  side  the  official 
apartments  stood,  consisting  of  chapter-house  with  pillars  con- 
nected by  a  pillared  arcade  with  the  great  hall.  The  library, 
scriptorium,  and  guest-chambers  were  probably  quite  near. 
The  exact  measurements  of  the  Abbey  are  kindly  supplied 
by  Mr  John  Ramsay,  clerk  of  works  at  Newbattle  estate,  who 
had  much  to  do  with  the  recent  excavations  and  explorations 
as  to  site,  architecture,  and  otherwise. 

Church — Extreme  length  east  and  west  outside  walls,  253  ft.  3  in. 
Extreme  length  east  and  west  inside  walls,  239  ft.  3  in. 

(79) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Extreme  width  north  and  south  outside  walls,  66  ft.  7  in. 

Extreme  width  north  and  south  inside  walls,  57  ft.  i  in. 

Extreme  length  of  nave,  161  ft.  6  in. 

Extreme  width  of  nave,  31  ft. 

Extreme  width  of  aisles,  13  ft.  o£  in. 

Extreme  length  of  crossing,  41  ft.  9  in. 

Extreme  length  of  chancel,  36  ft. 

Extreme  width  north  and  south  between  transepts,  117  ft. 

North  and  south  transepts,  east  and  west  (inside),  45  ft.  6  in. 

North  transepts,  north  to  south,  32  ft.  3  in. 

South  transept,  north  to  south,  28  ft.  2  in. 

North  wall  in  north  transept  is  8  ft.  thick. 

Other  walls  in  church  and  transept,  4  ft.  thick. 

South  wall  of  church,  next  cloisters,  3  ft.  6  in.  thick. 

West  front  wall  of  church,  6  ft.  6  in.  and  8  ft.  thick. 

Buttresses  on  the  north  aisle,  4  ft.  by  5  ft.  out  from  wall. 

Angle  buttresses  at  north  transept,  16  ft.  4  in.  by  10.  ft.  4  in. 

Corner  buttresses  at  east  end  of  church,  12  ft.  by  3  ft.  out  from  wall. 

Buttresses  north  and  south  side  of  chancel,  8  ft.  by  3  ft.  out  from 
wall. 

Buttresses  east  of  chancel,  6  ft.  by  3  ft.  out  from  wall. 

Octagon — Base  of  four  pillars  under  the  great  tower,  10  ft.  by  10  ft. 

Base  of  two  pillars  in  chancel,  10"  ft.  by  10  ft. 

Base  of  pillar  in  north  transept,  7  ft.  10  in.  by  8  ft.  3  in. 

Refectory,  length  inside,  106  ft. 

Refectory,  width,  33  ft.  6  in. 

Kitchen,  33  ft.  6  in.  by  12  ft.  6  in. 

Cloister  quadrangle,  125  ft.  10  in.  by  123  ft.  10  in. 

Width  of  chapter  house,  28  ft.     Extreme  length  inside,  57  ft. 

Width  of  great  hall,  43  ft.     Length  inside,  144  ft. 

Width  of  sacristy,  18  ft. 

From  the  north  wall  of  the  Abbey  Church  to  the  south  boundary  wall 
of  the  river  is  378  feet  4  inches,  and  from  the  south  boundary  wall  to 
the  wall  at  the  culverts  is  186  feet  6  inches. 

The  present  mansion-house  occupies  a  portion  of  the  area 
of  the  ancient  monastery ;  and  though  ingeniously  hidden  by 
modern  improvements,  the  ancient  masonry  is  still  visible  at 
parts  of  the  walls,  while  here  and  there  an  antique  moulding 
peeps  out  from  its  later  setting.  The  picturesqueness  and 
variety  of  line  of  the  mansion-house  show  that  it  has  gradually 
and  in  only  a  half-premeditated  way  grown  to  its  present 
dimensions.  The  details  of  the  architecture  bear  an  Early 
English  character,  and  have  been  assigned  by  a  high  authority, 
— Professor  Wills,  of  Cambridge — to  the  middle  of  the  thir- 
teenth century.  This  seems  to  show  that  the  superstructure 
at  least  of  the  old  Abbey  survived  the  successive  burnings  by 
the  invading  armies,  the  marks  of  whose  fire  are  still  traceable. 

The  excavations  for  the  church  were  begun  in  1878,  with 
the  result  that  nave,  aisles,  and  south  transept  were  found.  In 
1892  the  north  transept  was  discovered,  with  two  angle  but- 
tresses similar  to  those  of  Furness,  in  Lancashire.  These 
landmarks  are  now  laid  out  in  gravel,  revealing  the  great  thick- 
ness of  the  east  wall  and  chancel  pillars. 

(80) 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  BUILDINGS. 

Extensive  excavations  were  again  continued  in  1893  and 
1894,  both  in  the  interior  of  the  mansion-house  and  round 
about  it.  In  the  former  case  the  excavations  were  connected 
with  the  complete  restoration  of  the  crypt.  Those  who  know 
Newbattle  will  remember  that  from  the  entrance  hall  a  grand 
wooden  staircase  leads  to  the  spacious  vestibule  on  the  first 
floor,  where  are  hung  so  many  of  the  valuable  art  treasures 
of  the  mansion.  But  on  each  side  of  the  grand  staircase  there  are 
flights  of  stairs  leading  down  into  the  stone-vaulted  and  stone- 
ribbed  crypts.  Part  of  these  had  been  dealt  with  in  a  former 
excavation ;  now  the  crypts  have  all  been  opened  up,  and 
extending  across  the  mansion-house  from  north  to  south,  form 
a  beautiful  addition  to  this  interesting  pile.  The  crypts,  both 
on  the  south  and  north  sides  of  the  portion  immediately  behind 
the  grand  staircase,  had  been  built  up,  and  certain  portions 
of  them  used  as  servants'  rooms  and  lumber  stores.  The 
whole,  as  has  been  said,  has  been  cleared  out  from  end  to 
end,  with,  beautiful  artistic  effect.  Arches,  where  necessary, 
were  thrown  over  the  openings,  and  in  the  course  of  the  work 
the  bases  of  the  old  pillars  were  revealed  in  line  with  those 
now  remaining  in  the  crypt,  which  had  a  connection  with  the 
south  transept  of  the  church.  After  being  hidden  for  centuries, 
these  bases  are  still  in  perfect  preservation,  with  the  masons' 
marks  upon  them.  Masons'  marks  are  still  to  be  traced  on 
many  of  the  old  Abbey  stones  still  preserved  under  the  neigh- 
bouring yew  trees,  and  elsewhere  in  the  valley.  At  this, 
the  north  end,  in  what  is  called  the  Armour  Crypt,  an  old 
chimney  was  discovered,  which  measured  about  8  feet  at  the 
under  side.  At  another  place  was  discovered  the  old  kitchen 
chimney,  the  under  side  of  which  measured  12  feet  6  inches 
by  6  feet.  Both  flues  had  the  smoke  of  the  old  fires  still  upon 
them.  The  crypt  pillars  are  octagonal.  The  plain  shaft 
measures  3  feet  6|  inches  in  length,  and  each  side  of  the  pillar 
7  inches.  From  the  top  of  the  capital,  or  spring  of  the  arch, 
to  the  floor,  is  6  feet.  From  the  pillar  to  the  foot  of  the 
corbel,  going  from  east  to  west,  measures  13  feet  i  inch ;  from 
pillar  to  pillar,  going  from  north  to  south,  9  feet  7  inches. 
The  arches  are  circular.  The  ribs  show  five  plain  sides,  each 
measuring  5  inches.  The  keystones, — now  all  plain — may 
possibly  have  been  at  one  time  enriched  with  bosses,  as  some 
fine  specimens  of  bosses  were  found  while  excavating  the  crypt. 
F  (81) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

One  of  these  old  bosses  is  preserved  and  placed  inside  the 
crypt.  From  the  keystone  of  the  rib  to  the  floor  measures 
12  feet.  The  inside  length  of  the  crypt  now  open  from  north 
to  south  is  100  feet,  by  27  feet  7  inches  wide.  The  crypt, 
it  is  conjectured,  had  extended  from  the  south  transept  south- 
wards towards  the  river  for  about  200  feet,  inside  measurement. 
The  bases  of  the  pillars  of  the  great  hall  and  chapter-house 
are  preserved. 

The  whole  of  the  crypts,  save  one,  have  been  laid  with 
polished  oak,  and,  being  appropriately  furnished,  they  form 
quite  an  addition  to  the  show  portion  of  the  mansion-house. 
The  exception  made  is  a  small  crypt  on  the  west  side,  which 
apparently  was  the  old  Abbey  kitchen,  for  it  was  here  that 
the  great  chimney  was  found,  and  at  one  side  of  it  is  also 
an   ancient  oven.     The  flooring  of  this  has  been  treated   in 
quite   a   novel   way.        During  the  excavations   at   Newbattle 
Abbey,  a  large  number  of  old  and  curiously-shaped  flooring 
tiles  were  found.     They  were  hand-cut,   from   ij  to  |  inch 
thick,  with  a  fine  glaze  or  enamel  of  various  colours,  such  as 
yellow,   green,   red,   black,   and    brown    of    different  shades. 
These,  of  course,  along  with  other  curiosities  found,  have  been 
carefully  preserved.       The  Marquess  instructed  his  clerk  of 
works  to  have  the  floor  of  the  kitchen  crypt,   as  it  may  be 
called,  covered  with  an  inlaid  wooden  floor,  the  pieces  of  wood 
of  which  were  to  be  made  of  the  size  and  shape  of  the  old 
tiles  found.     No  pattern  was  to  be  used,  unless  there  was  an 
old  tile  design  to  correspond  to  it.     The  designs  were  geo- 
metrical in  character,  but  some  of  the  tiles  had  inlayings  in 
the  shape  of  fleur  de  lys,  conventional  roses,  &c.     The  work 
of  reconstructing  a  design  for  the  flooring  conformable  to  the 
old  patterns  was  a  task  of  great  difficulty,  but  it  was  success- 
fully accomplished,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  inlaid  flooring 
was  laid  with  effective  results.     The  flooring  was  made  and 
laid  by   Mr   John   Ramsay,   on   whose  taste  it  reflects  great 
credit.     All  the  wood  used  was  grown  in  the  park ;  and  a  fine 
effect  has  been  secured  by  using  various  coloured  veneers,  such 
as  yew,  oak,  maple,  laburnum,  plane  tree.     The  great  fireplace 
has  been  boarded  over,  carved  screens  set  at  each  side;  and 
with  a  step  up  from  the  floor,  where  the  great  hearth  of  the 
fire  had  been,  the  little  crypt,  which  is  well  lighted  by  modern 
windows  on  the  front  of  the  mansion-house,  has  assumed  quite 

(82) 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  BUILDINGS. 

an  ecclesiastical  appearance,  and  is  now  the  private  chapel, 
consecrated  by  the  funeral  of  the  late  Marquess  of  Lothian. 

Passing  outside  again,  it  may  be  noted  that  at  the  west 
end  of  the  Abbey  Church,  towards  the  south,  were  found  the 
foundations  of  the  west  wing,  with  a  portion  of  the  old  stair 
leading  from  the  dormitory  to  the  church.  The  width  of  this 
wing  inside  the  walls  is  28  feet  6  inches.  About  the  centre 
of  this  wing,  80  feet  from  the  north  wall  of  the  Abbey  Church, 
the  main  entrance  to  the  cloisters  was  found.  Outside  the 
doorway  were  three  steps,  5  feet  6  inches  by  loj  by  6  inches 
deep,  and  the  size  of  door  between  the  jambs  was  4  feet  9 
inches,  and  the  width  of  passage  through  to  the  cloister  garth 
was  6  feet  2  inches.  The  walls  were  of  ashlar  work.  The 
outside  wall  of  this  wing  is  3  feet  thick,  and  of  that  next  the 
cloisters  2  feet  6  inches  thick.  One  of  the  chambers  south 
from  this  entrance  to  the  cloisters  was  68  feet  long  by  23  feet 
9  inches  wide  ;  it  seems  to  have  been  groined,  and  would 
possibly  be  a  continuation  of  the  dormitory.  The  bases  of 
four  pillars  were  found  in  this  chamber,  and  as  all  were  of 
different  design,  the  shafts  would  also  be  different.  The  one 
next  the  south  was  like  a  quatrefoil ;  the  second  to  the  south 
was  circular,  with  zig-zag  moulding  round  the  base;  the  third 
from  the  south  was  octagonal ;  and  the  one  at  the  north  end 
was  a  circle,  with  dog-tooth  moulding  round  the  under  shaft. 
About  40  feet  from  the  end  of  this  chamber,  a  wall  was  found 
extending  east  and  west,  having  on  each  side  a  stone-built 
arched  culvert  of  ashlar  work,  2  feet  6  inches  wide  by  2  feet 
6  inches  high.  It  was  about  4  feet  from  the  present  surface, 
and  had  evidently  been  the  old  underground  waterway  for 
cleansing  purposes  of  the  Abbey.  The  foundations  of  the 
refectory  walls  were  found  extending  east  from  this  chamber, 
not  north  and  south  as  they  usually  are  placed.  They  con- 
tained a  fine  moulded  doorway  near  the  south-west  corner 
of  the  cloister  quadrangle.  The  moulded  jambs  had  a  bay  of 
3  feet  from  the  door  outwards.  The  jamb  moulding  was 
Early  English  Gothic.  Unfortunately,  these  excavations  were 
right  in  front  of  the  main  doorway  of  the  mansion-house,  and 
after  careful  examination  had  all  to  be  covered  again  with  soil. 
The  door  just  mentioned  was  found  right  in  the  middle  of 
the  carriageway;  but  of  it  a  full-sized  drawing  was  made  by 
the  clerk  of  works.  The  south  boundary  wall  was  found 

(83) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

extending  east  and  west  by  the  bank  of  the  South  Esk,  near 
to  which  the  Abbey  stands,  while  the  boundary  wall  from  the 
west  wing  already  referred  to  extended  southward  and  joined 
the  other  by  the  river  bank.  They  were  3  feet  in  thickness. 
As  the  excavations  proceeded,  Mr  Ramsay,  clerk  of  works, 
made  most  careful  measurements  of  the  walls  and  foundations, 
and  from  these  he  has  prepared  a  ground  plan  of  this  grand 
old  Abbey,  which,  if  not  quite  complete,  is  approximately  so. 
and  gives  one  a  true  appreciation  of  the  dimensions  of  this 
ancient  pile.  The  length  of  the  great  hall  and  the  size  of 
the  chapter-house  cannot  be  ascertained,  as  the  east  end  of 
both  are  covered  by  the  present  mansion.  As  already  stated, 
the  walls  and  pillars  and  transepts  of  the  church  have  been 
carefully  marked  on  the  lawn  over  the  buildings.  A  brown 
glazed  fireclay  edging,  unobtrusive  in  colour,  has  been  used. 
The  great  door  on  the  west  front  has  also  been  outlined  with 
this  edging. 

The  foundations  of  the  outside  wall  of  the  old  burial 
ground,  which  was  on  the  east  and  north  of  the  church,  were 
also  found, — not  straight,  but  with  a  gentle  curve  from  north 
to  east  by  south.  They  were  three  feet  thick.  While  digging 
in  this  portion  of  the  ground,  a  number  of  stone  coffins  were 
found,  principally  outside  the  chancel  and  north  transept. 
These  were  mostly  of  loose  slate.  One  coffin  of  polished 
ashlar  was  discovered  near  the  south  transept  entrance  from 
the  cloisters.  One  or  two  of  the  coffins  were  opened,  and 
were  found  to  contain  the  bones  of  well-built  men.  All  the 
coffins  disturbed  were  carefully  replaced,  and  like  the  other 
excavations,  this  part  has  also  the  grass  growing  upon  it  again. 
In  the  cloister  quadrangle  was  found  an  old  stone-built  well, 
3  feet  in  diameter  and  14  feet  deep.  Below  that  it  was  full 
of  rubbish.  Several  interesting  relics  of  the  last  burning  of 
the  Abbey  were  found  in  the  shape  of  pieces  of  the  charred 
beams  and  of  the  old  bell  of  St.  Marie  de  Newbottle,  which 
had  been  molten  by  the  fierce  heat.  One  of  these  pieces  weighs 
about  16  Ibs.,  and  there  were  many  other  fragments, — pieces 
of  stained  glass  windows,  pottery,  nails,  tools,  &c.,  were  also 
found.  A  small  silver  coin  of  the  reign  of  James  IV.  of 
Scotland,  whose  young  bride,  Margaret  Tudor,  was  entertained 
at  Newbattle  on  her  journey  to  Edinburgh,  was  also  found. 

A  fine  arch  still  survives,  covered  with  ivy,  near  the  river, 
(84) 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  BUILDINGS, 

— the  end  of  what  was  probably  a  subterranean  passage  be- 
tween the  Abbey  and  the  river, — a  means  of  getting  water 
from  the  Esk  when  the  house  was  attacked  or  blockaded.  It 
is  said  that  a  subterranean  passage  also  existed  between 
Newbattle  Abbey  and  the  Moorfoot  property,  but  this  on  the 
face  of  it  seems  to  be  impossible.  The  "subterranean  passage" 
idea  has  been  in  this  case,  as  in  many  others,  carried  out  to 
an  ideal  extent. 

The  Abbey  Scriptorium  was  a  room  of  no  little  importance, 
for  there  the  fathers  copied  manuscripts,  breviaries,  missals, 
and  all  sorts  of  ecclesiastical  books.  Many  of  these  are 
preserved  in  Newbattle  House  to-day, — some  of  them  of  great 
beauty  and  value.  In  mediaeval  times  it  was  considered  a 
special  act  of  grace,  worthy  of  special  divine  favour,  to  copy 
a  Gospel  manuscript.  The  Jewish  proverb, — "  blessed  is  he 
that  planteth  a  tree,"  was  transmuted  into, — "  blessed  is  he 
that  copieth  a  Gospel." 

The  guest-chamber  was  an  important  room  in  the  house, 
for  here  the  weary  pilgrim  and  sojourner  was  entertained. 
One  can  imagine  the  peace  and  calm  and  rest  of  a  worn-out 
traveller,  who,  arriving  at  the  Abbey,  could  claim  refreshment 
and  hospitality.  The  beautiful  words  which  are  hung  on  many 
a  modern  inn, — so  suggestive  of  Leighton, — seem  appropriate 
for  such  a  home  of  rest  arid  house  of  peace : — 

"  Sleep  sweetly  in  this  quiet  room, 

O  thou,  whoe'er  thou  art, 
And  let  no  mournful  yesterdays 
Disturb  thy  peaceful  heart. 

Nor   let  to-morrow   mar   thy   rest 

With  dreams  of  coming  ill ; 
Thy  Maker  is  thy  changeless  Friend, 

His  love  surrounds  thee  still. 

Forget  thyself  and  all  the  world  : 

Put  out  each  garish  light  : 
The   stars  are  shining  overhead — 

Sleep  sweetly  then — good-night !" 

Especially  if  after  the  solemn  evensong  the  pilgrim  had  come 
to  rest,  with  praise  and  prayer  in  his  heart, — whether  he  had 
journeyed  from  lonely  Soutra  on  the  Lammermuirs,  or  from 
some  other  distant  shrine  and  home,  he  would  have  the  feeling  so 
beautifully  expressed  by  Phillips  Brooks,  Bishop  of  New  York, 
and  author  of  the  beautiful  hymn, — "  It  came  upon  the  mid- 
night clear," — "  Pray  the  largest  prayers.  You  cannot  think 

(85) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

of  a  prayer  so  large  that  God,  in  answering  it,  will  not  wish 
that  you  had  made  it  larger.  Pray  not  for  crutches,  but  for 
wings.  Pray  that,  whatever  comes, — trial,  doubt,  failure  or 
success,  hope,  joy, — it  may  all  work  together  to  make  your 
soul  fit,  first  to  receive,  and  then  to  shine  forth  with  the  light 
of  God  1" 

The  water-passage  and  tunnels  conveying  water  from  the 
Esk  are  undoubtedly  of  monkish  origin,  also  the  fish-pond, 
now  the  Lothian  private  burial-ground.  In  the  old  Monkland 
wall  and  elsewhere  in  the  valley,  many  of  the  old  monastery 
stones  are  to  be  found,  some  of  them  with  the  masons'  marks. 
All  along  the  park  from  the  Abbey  to  the  Maiden  Bridge, 
traces  can  be  found  of  the  monastic  village  for  shepherds, 
masons,  wrights,  and  artizans  of  all  kinds,  who  served  the 
Abbey.  The  "  Monkland  Wall  "  surrounding  the  Abbey  on 
one  side  is  the  most  striking  and  picturesque  remnant  of  the 
old  days,  along  with  the  "  Maiden  Bridge,"  which  may  pos- 
sibly go  back  to  the  days  of  the  Roman  soldiers.  Near  the 
river,  and  beside  the  present  billiard-room,  there  are  many 
remains  of  the  old  institution, — two  figures  of  ecclesiastics  with 
their  heads  knocked  off,  clad  in  ecclesiastical  robes,  carefully 
worked  out, — alb  and  amice  and  cope,  besides  a  realistic  carved 
representation  of  wine-making,  with  grapes,  barrel,  bag,  spoon, 
and  strainer.  There  are  also  some  other  ecclesiastical  remains 
in  the  shape  of  wells,  store-houses,  conduits,  &c. 


(86) 


VII. 

THE  EARLIEST  SCOTTISH  MINERS.* 


COAL  and  limestone  mining  in  Newbattle  has  been 
pursued  from  an  early  period,  and  indeed  the  monk* 
of  Newbattle  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  pioneers 
of  mining  in  Scotland,  not  only  in  the  parish  of 
Newbattle  itself,  but  in  the  surrounding  district.  In 
one  respect,  indeed,  the  Newbattle  fathers  may  be  regarded  as 
the  pioneers  of  Britain's  industrial  greatness,  discovering  the 
mineral  which  has  made  Britain  great  by  land  and  sea.  The 
early  workings  of  the  monks  can  still  be  traced  in  the  banks 
of  the  river  Esk, — the  methods  used  to  recover  or  "  win  "  the 
coal  being  of  the  very  simplest  description.  A  hole  was  driven 
into  the  bank  where  the  black  traces  of  the  mineral  were 
observable,  and  the  coal  hewn  out  with  chisel,  hammer,  spade, 
and  drill.  It  was  Abbot  James  (1531)  who,  however,  de- 
veloped this  monastic  industry,  and  in  the  Chartulary  there  is 
an  entry  of  the  contract  made  with  the  monks  of  Dunfermline 
regarding  the  Prestongrange  workings.  The  coals  were  driven 
down  in  the  famous  Newbattle  carts,  and  shipped  in  wherries 
belonging  to  the  monks  to  various  places  on  the  coast.  Their 
little  harbour  is  now  called  Morison's  Haven,  and  the  road 
leading  from  Newbattle  to  Morison's  Haven  and  Prestongrange 
["  the  grange  of  the  priest's  town  "]  is  still  a  right-of-way, 
and  is  to-day  known  as  the  Salters'  Road,  from  the  fact  that 
along  this  highway  salt  was  brought  from  the  salt  pans  of 
Prestonpans,  probably  in  the  same  carts  which  had  driven  the 
coals  down  from  Newbattle  to  the  sea.  In  order  to  superintend 
the  various  industries  of  Newbattle  Abbey  along  the  coast,  the 
Abbot  held  two  houses  in  tiie  Inveresk  or  upper  part  of 
Musselburgh,  which  are  still  standing,  and  are  to-day  known 

*  The  facts  and  figures  regarding  the  Newbattle  coal  mines  have 
been  generously  furnished  by  Mr  John  Morison,  one  of  the  directors 
of  the  Lothian  Coal  Company,  and  formerly  manager  of  Lord 
Lothian's  collieries,  and  may  therefore  be  accepted  with  the  fullest 
confidence,  as  coming  from  one  so  eminent  in  his  profession. 

(37) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

as  Halkerston  Lodge  and  Inveresk  Lodge,  splendid  solid 
mansions,  with  thick  walls,  and  containing  crypts,  chambers, 
and  subterranean  passages.  Father  Hay  in  his  gossipy  letters 
mentions  as  a  curious  fact  that  the  monks  of  Newbattle  gave 
to  the  poor  "black  stones."  Before  the  coal  was  discovered 
or  largely  used,  the  fuels  used  were  wood,  of  which  there  was 
abundance  in  the  Esk  valley  from  the  presence  of  a  great 
portion  of  the  Caledonian  primeval  forest,  of  which  traces 
are  still  met  with  in  the  Newbattle  and  Dalkeith  policies; 
and  peat,  which  even  yet  is  abundantly  met  with  on  the  moor- 
land parts  in  the  neighbourhood,  vast  reaches  of  it  spreading 
in  the  Moorfoot  property  of  the  Newbattle  fathers  at  the  foot 
of  the  Moorfoot  Hills,  beside  the  present  Gladhouse  Reservoir, 
which  is  Edinburgh's  main  source  of  water  supply.  In  all  pro- 
bability the  Newbattle  fathers  were  also  the  pioneers  of  mining 
in  Lanarkshire,  the  wide  mineral  district  of  Monkland  receiving 
its  name  from  the  Newbattle  monks,  who  held  wide  properties 
all  over  that  part  of  Lanarkshire,  to  which  they  drove  a  road 
direct  from  their  home  by  the  Esk,  where,  even  yet,  the  great 
primitive-looking  wall,  portions  of  which  are  still  standing 
opposite  Newbattle  Church,  is  called  the  "  Monkland  Wall," 
from  the  fact  that  the  road  to  the  west  ran  alongside  of  it. 
In  the  ecclesiastic  records  of  various  Monkland  and  other 
Lanarkshire  parishes  there  are  frequent  references  to  the  New- 
battle  monks'  presence  and  coal  industry. 

The  industry  has  been  continuously  pursued  since  their 
days,  and,  fostered  by  the  enterprise  of  successive  proprietors 
of  the  land,  has  always  provided  employment  for  a  large 
proportion  of  the  population  of  the  parish,  and  maintained 
the  position  of  a  large  and  leading  centre  of  coal  mining  in 
Scotland. 

The  early  discovery  and  working  of  the  seams  of  coal  is 
due  to  a  very  large  extent  to  the  geological  formation  which 
exists  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Newbattle,  whereby  not  only 
are  the  seams  of  coal  numerous,  thick,  and  of  high  quality, 
but,  owing  to  the  inclination  of  the  strata,  they  become  one 
and  all  exposed  at  the  "  outcrop,"  although  lying  where  now 
worked  at  very  great  depth,  the  deepest  pit  in  Scotland  being 
at  present  situated  on  the  Newbattle  estate. 

Owing  to  this  conformation,  the  seams  of  coal  were  at 
their  "  outcrop,"  proved  with  little  expense,  and  absolute 

(88) 


THE  EARLIEST  SCOTTISH  MINERS. 

knowledge  gained  by  gradual  experience  of  the  nature  and 
value,  as  well  as  of  the  best  methods  of  working  the  various 
seams. 

The  coal  seams  worked  are  entirely  embraced  in  the  for- 
mation described  in  the  geological  survey  as  the  carboniferous 
limestone  formation.  The  base  of  this  formation  is  known  as 
the  No.  i  Limestone,  which  corresponds  with  the  D'Arcy 
limestone  at  present  being  worked  near  the  village  of  West- 
houses.  The  seams  of  coal  in  ascending  order  from  this  basis 
which  are  workable,  are  as  follows  : — 

The  "  Parrot  "  Seam  -  3  feet  3  inches  thick. 

The  "  Kaleblades  "  Seam  -          about  4  feet  to  5  feet  thick. 

The  "  Splint  "  Seam  -  4  feet  thick. 

The  "  Coronation  "  Seam  3  feet  6  inches  thick. 

The  "  Siller  Willie  "  Seam  -          2  feet  6  inches  to  4  feet  thick. 

The  "  Diamond  "  Seam  i  foot  10  inches  thick. 

The  "  Great  "  Seam    -  7  feet  6  inches  thick. 

The  "  Parrot  "  seam  embraces  a  band  of  cannel-coal,  used 
for  enriching  gas,  and  of  dry,  high  quality. 

The  "  Kaleblades "  seam  varies  in  workable  thickness 
owing  to  a  band  of  fireclay  which  is  contained  between  two 
beds  of  the  seam;  which  in  parts  of  the  coal-field  thickens 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  the  two  beds  of  the  seam 
unworkable  together. 

The  whole  of  the  remaining  coals  are  of  a  bituminous, 
non-caking  nature,  of  good  quality. 

The  outcrop  of  the  No.  i  Limestone  which  has  been 
referred  to  may  be  seen  in  the  old  quarry  near  D'Arcy  Farm 
steading,  the  full  dip  of  the  strata  being  towards  the  River 
South  Esk.  At  the  Lady  Victoria  Pit  the  vertical  depth  from 
the  surface  of  the  same  seam  of  limestone  is  about  1860  feet, 
showing  a  "  dip  "  of  the  strata  between  the  two  points  of 
1860  feet,  the  corresponding  dip  on  the  surface  formation 
being  about  320  feet. 

Along  the  course  of  the  Roman  Camp  hill  the  exposed 
strata  may  be  observed  for  some  distance  to  be  flat,  and  then 
on  the  other  side  of  the  hill  to  dip  in  the  opposite  direction, 
on  towards  the  valley  of  the  Tyne. 

In  places  the  strata  has  been  bent  over  without  breaking, 
in  others  it  has  cracked,  leaving  fissures.  At  one  point  along 

(89) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 


the  Roman  Camp  hill  a  quaquaversal  dip  of  the  strata  has 
been  produced  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  strata  dips  in  every  direction 
from  a  common  centre.  There  are  various  explanations  by 
geologists  to  account  for  the  position  and  dip  of  the  minerals, 
these,  however,  are  too  long  to  enter  into.  The  most  reason- 
able theory  appears  to  be  that  at  an  epoch  in  their  formation, 
and  when  supported  by  a  mass  of  molten  lava,  the  various 
dips  were  produced  by  the  volcanic  eruptions  which  were  at 
the  time  taking  place  in  the  vicinity  of  Arthur  Seat,  the  Pent- 
land  Hills,  and  other  volcanic  hills  in  the  neighbourhood. 

The  outcrops  of  the  various  seams  of  coal  occur  at 
intervals,  according  to  the  position  of  the  seams,  between  the 
road  near  Mansfield  and  the  old  house  known  as  Maisterton. 

The  history  of  the  working  and  opening  up  of  the  seams 
in  the  earliest  years  of  the  industry  would,  if  details  could  be 
obtained,  be  a  very  interesting  one.  Such  details  as  may  be 
obtained  from  old  existing  books  in  connection  with  the  work 
are  necessarily  devoid  of  details  further  than  those  necessary 
for  keeping  accounts  ;  but  extracts  from  some  such  books  which 
exist  in  the  nature  of  pay  books  so  far  back  as  1744,  or  150 
years  ago,  may  prove  interesting  to  the  reader,  and  are  as 
follows  :  — 

ist  Extract  from  an  old  pay  book,  embracing  the  period 
from  June,  1744,  to  November,  1745  — 


LONG  LAW  COL  ACCOUNT  FROM  JUNE  THE  STH  TO  THE 


1744. 


Hendray  Drayodel 

92 

To    559    lod    and    3    ., 

Robrt  Mitchel 

qo 

3            countos 

Thomas  Shanban 

94 

i     At  tu  pns  p  Lod 

4 

13 

1 

2 

Hendray  Nesmeth 

93 

To  37  bols  of  Lime 

James  Dick 

78 

Col 

James  Smeth 

52 

2     At  2  pns  p  bol 

i 

10 

Charals  Smeth 

59 

i 

559 

3 

4 

15 

i 

2 

(Opposite  page  of  book.) 

THE  ONCOST. 


To  James  Wilson  Col  grive 

To  Robert  Dick  redsman  6  days  to  the  reding  at 

4  pns  p  day  as  the  on  half  of  his  weag 
To  the  above  man  one  pound  of  candls 
To  the  2  therds  of  4  carts  of  Lim  col  at  6  pns  p 

cart 

To  Charles  Smeth  for  working  foull  col 
To  James  Smeth  for  working  foull  col 
To  on  pound  of  candls  for  veouing  the  work 
To  James  Dick  on  day  with  the  birer 


(90) 


1FT 


THE  EARLIEST  SCOTTISH  MINERS. 

2nd  Extract  from  an  old  pay  book,  embracing  the  period 
from  January,   1744  to  July,    1746  : — 

(Left  page  of  book.) 

BRYANS  COALWORK  ACCTS.    FROM  7111  TO  I4TH  JULY. 

1744.      COALS  WROT.  LOADS.   COUNTERS.  DEBTOR. 


John  Duncan 

36 

Thursday, 

zoth  July 

Charles  Campble 

7 

Run  away  from  ye  worl 

John  Penman 

6 

Run  away 

David  Richardson 

5 

Run  away 

James  Thomson 

6 

Run  away 

William  Watson 

5 

Run  away 

Andrew  Weir 

36 

William  Young 

5 

Run  away 

Andrew  Young 

7 

Run  away 

David  Penman 

6 

Run  away 

David  Allan 

Run  away 

Peter  Robertson 

35 

Sterling 

£   sh.    £ 

To  said        .        .        .         154  loads  sold  at  4d.  each 

2  1     II        4 

By  Ballance  Deu  to  Creditor 

9      9i 

(Right  page  of  book.) 


1744.      CHARGE  CAIRIRNG  ON  SAID   WORKS   SAID  TYME. 


Sterling. 
£       s.       d. 


By  Robt  Wilson  Coal  grieve  and  overseer  of  said  work 

By  Tho.  Begbie  Cheque 

By  John  Duncan  assistant  below  Ground 

By  Alexr  Young  5  days  taking  down  Stone 

By  John  Allan  5  days  Redding  ye  Rooms 

By  Will  Robertson  6  days  Redding  ye  Levell 

By  John  Thomson  6  days  at  Do 

By  Andrew  Weir  2  days  Redding  of  Mynd 

By  John  Duncan  2  days  at  Do 

By  James  Brown  2  days  Bearing  from  Do 

By  Hanna  Wilsson  2  days  at  Do 

By  Helen  Wilsson  2  days  at  do 

By  Janet  Robertson  3  days  bearing  Wood 

By  5  pound  candles  to  above  work  people 

14  July.  By  for  mentioned  12  men  for  working  and 
bearing  ye  forsd  154  loads  at  3  half  d  lod 

By  on  shillg  givn  to  ...  in  Dalkeith  as  Justice- 
mount  (?)  money  account  Sir  John  Ramsay  of 
Whitehill  for  Detaining  ye  Coaliers 

By  3d  for  new  pylling  (?)  strong 

By  Coals  to  ye  family  this  week  pr  actt 


6 

8 

5 

2 

4 

2 

2 

I 

5 

4 

I 

8 

I 

8 

8 

8 

I 

3 

2 

34 

19 

3 

I 

3 

2 

18 

34 

2 

10 

3 

I 

_£4 

THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 
3rd  Copy  of  pay  bill,  April,  1788  : — 

BEYANS  COAL  ACCOUNT  FROM  THE  IQTH  TO  THE  26ra  OF  APEIL  1788. 

To  the  Coal  Grieve      -  -070 

To  the  Check  -  -050 

To  James  Thomson  Banksman  .        o    7    4^ 

To  Geor  Heasty  pit  bo  tarn  man  -        o     7    4^ 

To  Geor  Heasty  and  the  other  2  redsmen      -  -        o  19    4^ 

To  And  Richardson  2^  fath  in  the  level      -  -089 

To  Thos  Weddell  9  foott  in  the  leven  head  -  -030 
To  James  Brown  for  earring  the  pinch  to  the  mynd  006 
To  3  oncost  bearers  -  o  i  o 

To  James  Brown  for  sclute  -  o    o  10 

To  Thos  Weddell  for  do        -  o    a    & 

To  John  Richardson  for  do     -  -009^ 

To  Geo  Young  for  do  -  -009^ 

To  David  Richardson  for  reding  -  030 
To  Helen  Penman  3  darg  -  o  i  o 

To  7  pound  of  candle  -  -044^ 

To  Jo  Wilson  for  takeing  care  of  the  work  -  -026 

To  James  Stewart  6  darg  at  the  gin  -  -030 

To  John  Hunter  6  do  at  the  pin  -  050 
To  Da.  Richardson  for  ale  and  meat  to  the  Coaliers  i  i  o 

To  Do  for  Drink  to  the  oncost  men  -  -080 

To  the  Coalbearers       -  -076 

To  halters  and  binders  to  the  gin  horses     -  -        o    o  io£ 

To  the  workmanship  of  the  Coal      -  -       10    4    8 

Carriages  to  New  pr  Geo  Adamson  6  tubs  -  -050 

16    8    2 

The  books  from  which  the  foregoing  extracts  are  made 
are  in  good  preservation,  and  have  been  carefully  kept.  It 
would  appear  that  able-bodied  men  were  paid  at  the  rate  of 
lod  per  day,  and  the  women  who  worked  as  bearers  in 
carrying  the  coal  out  from  the  workings  were  paid  about  3d 
per  day.  Little  or  no  change  appears  to  have  been  made 
in  the  rate  of  pay  up  to  1788.  It  would  appear,  however, 
from  the  entries  in  the  latter  pay  book,  that  attempts  were 
being  made  at  the  latter  date  to  lighten  the  labour  of  bearing 
the  coal  by  the  use  of  "  gins."  This  apparatus  was  worked 
by  a  horse,  and  consisted  of  a  rough  upright  post  working  in 
sockets,  and  with  a  cross  tree  attached,  to  which  the  horse  was 
yoked,  and  similar  apparatus  was  used  until  steam  engines 
were  brought  into  use  at  mines  for  raising  the  material. 

The  system  of  working  in  the  earliest  times  would  appear 
to  have  been  by  driving  in  near  the  outcrop  of  the  coal  seam 
and  carrying  the  coal  out,  the  women  of  the  family  being 
used  for  this  purpose.  As  the  coal  which  could  be  so 
obtained  got  deeper,  drainage  would  have  to  be  provided,  and 

(92) 


THE  EARLIEST  SCOTTISH  MINERS. 

pits  sunk,  up  which  the  coal  was  carried.  Drainage  would 
be  provided  by  cutting  in  a  level  mine  by  which  the  water 
ran  off.  By  this  means  the  workings  appear  to  have  attained 
a  considerable  depth ;  indeed,  a  level  drainage  mine,  of  which, 
so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  the  date  of  commencement  is  not 
known,  is  driven  from  the  "  peth  "  below  Mill  Hill  right  up 
to  Bryans  pit,  a  distance  of  about  500  yards.  From  the 
marking  on  the  sides  of  this  mine,  which  is  known  as  the 
Newbattle  day  level,  it  must  have  been  driven  at  great  labour 
with  very  inferior  tools,  and  without  explosives,  and  must 
have  involved  great  patience  in  its  projectors  and  the  workmen 
employed.  It  had,  however,  the  effect  of  entirely  draining 
the  minerals  without  pumping  to  a  depth  of  180  feet  at  Bryans 
pit,  and  is  still  made  use  of  to  that  depth. 

Reverting  to  the  early  workings  as  shown  in  the  pay 
books,  it  would  appear  that  in  1744  the  colliers  were  working 
under  laws  by  which  they  were  practically  slaves. 

In  Bryans'  pay  book  for  the  week  following  the  one  which 
is  here  extracted,  it  is  recorded  against  the  names  of  all  the 
colliers  who  "  ran  away," — "  All  in  Dalkeith  Prison  except 
Pet  Robertson  and  Andrew  Young."  It  is  not  recorded 
whether  these  individuals  escaped  ultimately  or  were  forgiven 
for  "  running  away." 

It  appears  to  have  been  enacted  in  1775  (the  i5th  Geo. 
III.,  ch.  28),  that  this  state  of  servitude  or  bondage  should 
come  to  an  end,  and  this  would  alter  the  condition  of  the 
workers  in  the  Newbattle  mines.  The  preamble  of  the  Act 
referred  to  is  as  follows: — "Whereas  by  the  statute  law  of 
Scotland  as  explained  by  the  judges  of  the  courts  of  law 
there,  many  colliers  and  coal  bearers  and  salters  are  in  a  state 
of  slavery  and  bondage,  bound  to  the  collieries  or  saltworks 
where  they  work,  for  life  transferable  with  the  collieries  and 
saltworks,  etc." 

The  emancipation,  however,  was  to  be  gradual,  and  vary- 
ing from  three  to  ten  years  for  those  already  employed,  but  no 
person  commencing  work  as  a  collier  thereafter  was  to  be 
bound. 

The  Act  of  1775  does  not  appear  to  have  been  completely 
effective  in  freeing  the  colliers,  as  it  was  found  necessary  in 
1799  to  pass  another  Act,  which  enacted  "  that  from  and  after 
the  passing  of  this  Act  all  the  colliers  in  that  part  of  Great 

(93) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Britain  called  Scotland,  who  were  bound  colliers  at  the  time 
of  the  passing  of  the  said  Act,  shall  be,  and  they  are  hereby 
declared  to  be,  free  from  their  servitude." 

The  moral  effect  of  such  degradation  upon  the  colliers  at 
this  period  may  be  easily  conceived.  It  is  not  therefore  to 
be  wondered  at  that  by  improving  the  condition  of  employ- 
ment a  gradual  change  on  the  condition  of  the  employees  in 
the  mines  has  had  the  effect  of  transforming  the  colliers  from 
what  they  were  in  1744  to  their  present  condition  in  Newbattle, 
and  at  the  present  time  in  every  respect  the  colliers  in  New- 
battle  will  compare  favourably  with  any  artizans  or  workmen 
in  any  other  trade  in  any  other  district.  In  many  respects, — 
moral,  physical,  and  intellectual,  they  stand  far  in  advance 
of  similar  industrial  communities. 

It  is  recorded  that  in  1837  the  workings  in  Newbattle 
were  suspended  for  four  months,  owing  to  a  strike  for  higher 
wages.  The  working  of  the  minerals  and  their  development 
has  since  1744  been  vigorously  pursued  by  the  Marquesses  of 
Lothian  in  succession.  The  first  large  development  appears 
to  have  been  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  Bryans  pit,  where 
a  mine  was  cut  to  the  Parrot  seam,  and  large  quantities  worked. 
Following  this,  Bryans  pit  and  the  two  pits  at  Lingerwood 
have  been  sunk  and  developed,  the  new  extensions  having 
apparently  at  all  times  kept  pace  with  the  times. 

In  1890  the  minerals  were  taken  over  by  the  Lothian  Coal 
Company,  Limited,  in  conjunction  with  other  coal  fields,  and 
since  that  time,  by  extensive  sinkings,  notably  the  Lady  Victoria 
pit,  to  reach  large  areas  of  coal,  works  have  been  developed 
which  promise  for  many  years  to  come  to  maintain  in  the 
parish  of  Newbattle  the  reputation  which  it  has  had  for  so 
many  years  as  one  of  the  leading  mining  centres  of  Scotland. 

According  to  the  most  recent  computations,  there  are 
5,000,000,000  tons  of  coal  in  the  Edinburghshire  portion  of 
the  Lothian  coalfield,  which  extends  from  the  Firth  of  Forth 
inward  to  Penicuik,  a  distance  of  17!  miles.  The  field  is 
between  four  and  five  miles  broad,  and  contains  thirty-seven 
seams,  with  an  aggregate  thickness  of  105  feet  of  coal.  It 
represents  the  richest  coal  district  in  Scotland,  and  taking 
into  account  the  coal  to  be  worked  under  the  Firth  of  Forth, 
and  calculating  on  the  present  output  as  a  basis,  there  is 
enough  coal  in  the  district  to  last  2000  years. 

(94) 


VIII. 

THE  MONKS  OF  NEWBATTLE  AND 
INYERE5K. 


THERE  are  many  things  to  connect  the  two  historical 
parishes  of   Inveresk  and  Newbattle.     If  the  inter- 
esting  old   church   of    St.    Michael    is   the    "  visible 
church  " — a  city  set  on  a  hill, — that  of   Newbattle 
(or,  more  properly,  Newbottle — new  residence,   Mel- 
rose  Abbey  being  the   "  old  bottle,"   or  old  residence,   from 
which  the  Newbattle  monks  came)  deserves  the  title  of  the 
"  invisible  church,"     lying  deep  down  in  the  Esk  valley,  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  great  woods,  and  hemmed  in  on  every 
side  by  gentle  undulating  hills.     Such  were  the  sites  always 
chosen  for  their  monasteries  by  the   Cistercian  monks.     An- 
other connection  lies  in  the  river  Esk, — the  South  Esk  flowing 
past  the  old  monastery,  whose  inmates  used  to  love  a  Thurs- 
day's fishing  in  view  of  a  Friday's  fast, — and  which,  after 
uniting  with  the  North   Esk  below   Dalkeith,   expends   itself 
at  Musselburgh,  bearing  itself  past  Delta  Moir's  monument, 
and  the  quaint  old-world  town  which  has  three  mussels  and 
the  word  *'  Honesty  "  for  its  crest.     "  The  honest  toun  "  is 
surely  not  only  proud  in  its  possession  of  "  the  visible  kirk," 
but  also  a  little  bold  in  its  historic  utterance, — 

"  Musselburgh   was   a   burgh 

When  Edinburgh  was  nane ; 
And  Musselburgh  '11  be  a  burgh 
When  Edinburgh's  gane." 

Another  interesting  connection  between  the  two  places  is 
in  the  Roman  remains  to  be  found  in  both.  Across  the  Esk 
at  Newbattle  there  is  built  the  "  Maiden  Bridge," — favourite 
haunt  of  artists,  probably  built  by  the  Roman  soldiers.  The 
route  by  which  the  great  road  from  Newbattle  Abbey  to  the 
east  coast  passed  was  not  over  this  bridge,  but  by  a  road  which 
can  still  be  traced  a  little  higher  up,  and  entering  the  grounds 
near  the  present  East  Lodge,  and  thence  passing  to  the  Esk 

(95) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

opposite  the  Abbey,  where  a  ford  made  a  connection  between 
the  two  sides  of  the  river.  The  great  gates  of  the  Abbey  stood 
near  the  East  Lodge.  A  minor  road  passed  across  the  park 
through  the  monastic  village,  and  over  the  Maiden  Bridge 
towards  Dalkeith,  in  all  probability.  A  vigorous  controversy 
has  been  waged  over  the  name  of  this  bridge,  which,  crossing 
the  South  Esk  about  a  mile  from  the  Abbey,  so  picturesquely 
reminds  one  of  the  Brig  o'  Doon  in  Ayrshire.  Various 
antiquarians  have  held  various  views  about  it ;  but  possibly 
the  bridge,  whether  the  work  of  the  Roman  soldiers  or  not, — 
and  there  was  a  Roman  camp  on  the  hill, — was  baptised  the 
"  Maiden  Brig  "  after  the  great  historical  event  so  beautifully 
depicted  in  the  Italian  painting  which  adorns  one  of  the 
mantelpieces  in  the  drawing-room  ot  the  present  mansion. 
Robert  Burns  sets  one  of  his  sweetest  songs  to  the  air,  "  Dal- 
keith's  Maiden  Bridge."  Some  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  the 
"  Madonna  Brig  "  or  "  Bridge  of  our  Lady,"  to  whom  the 
Abbey  was  dedicated,  and  that  the  Princess  Margaret  never 
crossed  it  at  all,  but  entered  by  the  "  Queen  Margaret 
Gate,"  still  standing.  Musselburgh,  too,  has  its  Roman 
bridge,  deeply  interesting  to  antiquarians.  In  fact,  the 
whole  district  lives  with  memories  of  the  Roman  legion- 
aries. The  "  Roman  Camp "  above  Newbattle  can  still 
be  traced,  and  even  in  names  of  neighbouring  places, 
such  as  "  Chesters  "  (castra  —  camp),  "  Dalhousie  Ches- 
ters,"  Chesterhill  (the  old  name  of  Edgehead  —  the  camp 
hill),  &c.,  the  influence  can  be  seen.  A  chain  of  Roman 
camps  seems  to  have  run  across  this  whole  district.  "Jupiter" 
Carlyle  is  undoubtedly  right  in  declaring  that  St.  Michael's 
Church,  Inveresk,  was  built  on  the  site  of  a  Roman  camp  on 
the  hill,  and  of  the  very  bricks  and  stones  of  the  older 
structure.  The  praetorium  is  still  traceable.  Roman  remains 
have  frequently  been  discovered  on  the  hill,  and  the  fact  that 
the  church  was  built  on  the  hill,  so  far  away  from  Musselburgh, 
is  almost  certainly  due  to  the  existence  of  the  building  materials 
already  there.  Probably  St.  Baldred,  the  apostle  of  East 
Lothian,  brought  Christianity  to  this  district  in  the  sixth 
century,  and  the  early  Saxon  monastery  of  Tyningham,  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Balther,  had  diocesan  authority  over  all  East 
Lothian.  The  chain  of  camps  can  be  traced  from  Inveresk 
Hill  to  the  Roman  Camp  Hill  of  Newbattle,  thence  to  "  The 

(96) 


THE  MONKS  OF  NEWBATTLE  AND  1NVERESK. 

Chesters,"  near  Tynehead,  and  thence  to  Heriot,  on  one  of  the 
hills  of  which  there  are  still  remains  of  an  extensive  camp. 

There  are  some  other  interesting  points  of  connection 
between  Inveresk  and  Newbattle.  When  Archbishop  Leighton 
was  incumbent  of  the  latter  parish,  Mr  Colt  ministered  to  the 
former.  Complaining  of  his  "heavy  charge"  at  Mussel- 
burgh,  Colt  received  the  pleasant  and  humorous  reply  from 
Leighton — "  It  is  too  bad  to  put  such  a  heavy  load  upon  a 
Colt," — one  of  the  many  grave  pleasantries  attributed  to  the 
saintly  divine. 

Three  battlefields,  all  disastrous  to  Scotland,  surround 
Inveresk  Hill — Pinkie  (1547),  at  the  very  foot;  Carberry 
(1567),  where  Mary  surrendered  to  the  lords;  and  Prestonpans 
(1745),  where  Colonel  Gardiner  fell.  It  has  come  down  by 
tradition,  that  when  the  last  of  these  was  being  fought,  a 
number  of  people  belonging  to  Newbattle  ran  along  the  ridge 
of  the  Roman  Camp  Hill  till  they  came  within  sight  of  the 
battle,  which  they  followed  with  eager  interest. 

There  are  few  belonging  to  the  district  who  have  never 
heard  of  "  Camp  Meg,"  a  sort  of  witch  who  lived  on  the 
Roman  Camp  Hill  at  Newbattle  early  in  last  century,  and, 
dressed  in  man's  clothing  and  armed  with  a  scythe  or  a  sickle, 
rode  astride  her  white  mare  to  all  the  fairs  and  races  in  the 
neighbourhood, — the  terror  of  the  district.  She  was  univer- 
sally regarded  as  an  uncanny  person,  and  lived  in  absolute 
solitude  in  the  loneliness  of  the  Camp  Hill.  A  curious  sight 
it  must  have  been  to  see  her  riding  her  white  mare  at  Mussel- 
burgh  races,  as  she  sometimes  did. 

A  much  more  intimate  connection,  however,  than  any  of 
these,  existed  between  Newbattle  and  Inveresk;  for  the  abbot 
and  monks  of  Newbattle  Abbey  had,  amongst  their  many 
other  possessions,  two  residences  in  Inveresk.  These  were  to 
some  extent  coast-houses  for  the  fathers,  just  as  Pinkie  House 
was  originally  built  for  the  abbot  and  monks  of  Dunfermline, 
into  whose  possession  Musselburgh  was  given  by  royal  charter. 
This  practice  of  a  monastery  having  an  extra  or  dependent 
house  is  quite  common  still  on  the  Continent.  The  great  St. 
Bernard  monastery  in  the  heart  of  Alpine  snows  has  a  depend- 
ent house  at  Martigny,  at  the  head  of  the  rich  and  beautiful 
Rhone  valley,  to  which  the  sick  and  aged  of  the  St.  Bernard 
monks  in  the  upper  house  are  sent  for  refreshment  and  change. 
G  (97) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

But  the  Newbattle  monks  had  these  houses  not  only  for  plea- 
sure; they  carried  on,  as  we  shall  see  later,  an  extensive  trade 
in  the  district,  v;orking  coal  in  the  near  neighbourhood  of 
Inveresk,  carting  coals  from  Newbattle,  where  the  monks  first 
discovered  and  worked  the  mineral,  shipping  the  coals  to  other 
places,  exporting  and  importing  various  products  of  the  soil,, 
and  generally  carrying  on  commerce  with  the  outside  world. 
The  two  houses  of  which  the  abbot  and  monks  were  proprietors 
are  known  to-day  as  Inveresk  Lodge  and  Halkerston  Lodge, 
but  these  names  are  comparatively  recent.  Built  in  the  old 
Scottish  style  of  architecture,  with  high  pitched  roofs  and 
crow-step  gables,  they  have  all  the  appearance  of  great 
antiquity  and  monastic  origin.  Two  shepherds'  houses  beside 
them  are  also  monastic. 

Inveresk  Lodge,  the  property  now  of  the  Wedderburn 
family,  was  the  residence  of  General  Sir  William  Hope,  Bart., 
C.B.,  before  he  succeeded  to  the  baronetcy  of  Craighall,  his 
lady  being  a  Wedderburn.  It  is  a  commodious  house  inter- 
nally, and  shows  that  the  early  churchmen  had  sound  ideas 
of  domestic  economy  and  architecture.  Like  most  ancient 
buildings,  there  is  a  diversity  of  levels  in  different  parts  of 
the  house.  It  is  even  at  the  present  day,  however,  a  fine 
residence,  and  the  arrangements  of  three  or  four  hundred  years 
ago  are  found  to  be  suitable  even  for  the  present  generation. 
There  is  a  large  wine-cellar  in  the  house,  and  the  whole  air  of 
the  building  is  monastic  and  mediaeval.  It  reminds  one  very 
strongly  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Maurice  on  the  banks  of  the 
Rhone,  a  few  miles  above  Bex,  which  both  in  internal  arrange- 
ments and  general  style  and  size  is  very  like  it, — a  curious 
"  cross  "  between  a  monastery,  properly  speaking,  and  a  good, 
serviceable  dwelling-house. 

The  same  is  true  of  Halkerston  Lodge,  which  has  one  or 
two  dark  chambers  in  it,  which,  it  is  believed,  were  used  for 
the  confinement  of  those  guilty  of  breaches  of  discipline.  A 
subterranean  passage  is  believed  to  exist  between  the  two 
houses. 

In  the  rent-roll  of  Musselburgh  for  1561  the  Abbot  of 
Newbattle  stands  chargeable  with  2o/,  probably  the  feu  pay- 
able for  these  two  houses.  In  the  same  roll  the  town  of 
Edinburgh  figures  for  ^5,  and  Haddington  for  40 /.  Blaen's 
atlas,  published  about  1600  at  Amsterdam,  shows  the  road  by 

(98) 


THE  MONKS  OF  NEW  BAT  TIE  AND  INVERESK. 

the  Esk  which  connected  Newbattle  with  Inveresk,  and  that 
the  policies  of  Dalkeith  Park  only  extended  to  where  the  north 
and  south  Esks  meet,  near  the  stables.  Here,  then,  were  the 
two  residences  of  the  Newbattle  monks — only  a  small  portion 
of  vast  possessions  which  stretched  down  to  Gala  water  and 
Peebles,  and  Monkland  in  Lanarkshire,  and  even  to  the  pine- 
olad  slopes  of  Glenartney. 

This  part  of  Midlothian  was  famous  for  its  wealthy 
religious  houses.  The  canons-regular  had  Soutra  monastery, 
— "  the  St.  Bernard's  of  Midlothian," — built  not  only  to  offer 
a  life  of  peaceful  meditation  to  the  religious,  but  as  a  shelter 
in  snowstorms  and  rains  to  the  wearied  travellers  coming  from 
the  south  across  the  bleak  moors  of  the  Lammermuir  and 
Moorfoot  Hills  towards  Edinburgh, — a  useful  hospice  then, 
as,  even  now,  something  of  the  kind  might  be,  as  has  been 
proved  by  many  travelling  disasters  in  that  very  region.  Such 
monastic  resting-places  were  by  no  means  uncommon  in  our 
islands.  For  example,  at  the  barest  and  most  dangerous  part 
of  Glenshee  there  is  still  standing  the  "  Spittal  of  Glenshee," 
— the  hospital  or  hospice  where  once  a  monastery  stood,  and 
where  weary  travellers  were  housed  and  fed  by  the  monks. 
The  "  Spittal  of  Glentilt  "  also  recalls  a  monastic  hospice 
which  once  stood  in  that  treeless,  solitary  Highland  val- 
ley. The  village  of  Spittal  has  a  similar  origin.  In 
Ireland,  Lord  Morris  of  Spittal  has  his  title  from  a  similar 
hospice;  in  London,  Spitalfields  recalls  the  same  connection. 
Soutra  Monastery,  of  which  only  a  small  aisle  stands,  though 
the  whole  hillside  is  marked  with  mounds  and  ruins,  was 
wealthy,  and  had  Trinity  College,  Edinburgh,  as  a  depend- 
ency, and  eventually  as  a  superior. 

Crichton  College,  beside  Crichton  Castle,  was  wealthy. 
The  fine  old  building  still  remaining,  with  its  curious  carvings 
of  monks  laughing,  crying,  sneering,  and  winking,  is  interesting 
as  the  last  building  constructed  by  the  Church  before  the 
Reformation;  the  crash  came  in  1560,  and  the  church  was  left 
half-built.  Borthwick  is  notable,  like  Crichton,  not  only  for 
its  castle  inseparably  associated  with  Queen  Mary,  as  its  manse 
is  with  Dr  Robertson,  the  great  Scottish  historian,  but  also 
for  its  church,  a  portion  of  which  remains  full  of  interest  and 
historic  charm. 

Temple  has  its  beautiful  story  of  the  Knights  Templars 
clinging  around  its  ivy-clustered  walls,  as  the  memory  of  these 

(99) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

martial  monks  lingers  in  the  lovely  valley  which  has  its  name 
from  men  of  war  who  took  refuge  in  this  beautiful  vale  of 
peace.  Mount  Lothian,  away  out  on  the  moors  beyond 
Rosewell  and  Carrington,  has  its  interesting  tale.  Roslin 
College  (St.  Matthew's)  is  world-famous.  Restalrig  Abbey, 
originally  a  great  place,  of  which  only  the  chancel  remains, 
the  Nether-Bow  of  Edinburgh  having  been  built  of  the  stones 
of  its  nave  and  transepts  after  the  Reformation,  was  wealthy 
beyond  many,  and  had  Lasswade  as  a  chapel  under  it. 

Many  another  rare  old  abbey  dotted  this  part  of  Mid- 
lothian, and  became  a  centre  of  civilisation  and  energy  and 
light.  But  not  only  the  most  wealthy,  but  the  most  powerful 
socially,  was  the  Cistercian  Abbey  of  St.  Mary,  Newbattle; 
and  some  account  of  its  works,  chiefly  in  connection  with 
Inveresk  and  Musselburgh,  may  interest  the  reader. 

The  monks  of  Newbattle  took  a  great  part  in  the  culti- 
vation of  the  ground,  and  of  fruits,  vegetables,  crops,  and 
trees.  Almost  all  the  rich  forests  in  Midlothian  had  their 
beginnings  thus.  The  Cistercians  always  planted  their  abbeys 
in  low-lying  places  near  rivers,  and  the  primeval  woods  were 
trained  and  extended  till  vast  forests  covered  hill  and  valley. 
The  one  great  exception  to  this  is,  of  course,  the  "  Caledonian 
Forest,"  which  in  pre-Christian,  and  in  early  Christian  ages 
covered  the  great  heart  of  Scotland,  and  of  which  traces  can 
still  be  seen  at  Rannoch,  at  Cadzow,  and  elsewhere, 
as  well  as  at  Dalkeith  and  Newbattle.  This  was 
the  original  rugged  oak  -  forest  which  clothed  savage  Scot- 
land, and  into  which  the  rude  Caledonians  rushed  on  the 
approach  of  the  Roman  legions.  Now  the  great  forests  of 
Scotland  are  in  many  cases  made  up  of  imported  trees.  For 
example,  larch  forests  cover  vast  tracts  of  Perthshire  to-day, 
— ten  thousand  acres  in  Athole  alone;  but  the  first  two  larches 
ever  introduced  into  Scotland  were  brought  thither  from  the 
Tyrol  so  recently  as  1737,  and  were  nurtured  in  flower-pots 
placed  in  a  green-house.  These  two  trees  are  still  growing 
a  little  to  the  west  of  Dunkeld  Cathedral.  Birnam  Woods, 
and  the  other  vast  forests  which  clothe  Scotland  with  verdure, 
are  all  to  be  dated  within  the  last  few  hundred  years.  The 
great  beech  tree  in  Newbattle — the  largest  beech  tree  in  Great 
Britain — is  only  one  of  multitudes  planted  in  the  Esk  valley  by 
the  Cistercian  monks  of  Newbattle,  one  of  the  principles  of 

(100) 


THE  MONKS  OF  NEW  BATTLE  AND  INVERESK. 

whose  life  was  that  every  brother  should  engage  in  manual 
labour.  "  Blessed  is  he  who  plants  a  tree,"  was  their  motto. 
Doubtless  many  of  the  fine  trees  in  and  around  Inveresk  and 
Musselburgh  had  monastic  origin.  The  rich  forests,  as  well 
as  the  richly-cultivated  fields  of  Midlothian,  have  these  men 
for  their  fathers  and  first  patrons.  Doubtless  the  monks  of 
Dunfermline,  who  owned  Musselburgh,  did  much  in  the  same 
direction.  The  trees  around  Pinkie  House,  —  originally  a 
country  seat  of  the  abbots  of  Dunfermline,  —  probably  owe 
much  to  their  fostering  care,  as  also  the  trees  round  the  Inver- 
esk hill  to  the  care  of  the  Newbattle  abbots,  whose  residences 
still  remain  under  the  names  of  Inveresk  Lodge  and  Halkerston 
Lodge. 

"  Delta  Moir,"  the  poetic  genius  of  Musselburgh,  sings  of 
the  natural  beauties  of  the  district  in  these  words  : — 

"  Down  from  the  old  oak  forests  of  Dalkeith, 
Where  majesty  surrounds  a  ducal  home, 
Between  fresh  pastures  gleaming  thou  dost  come 
Bush,  scaur,  and  rock  and  hazelly  shaw  beneath ; 
Till,  greeting  thee  from  slopes  of  orchard  ground 
Towers  Inveresk,  with  its  proud  villas  fair, 
Scotland's  Montpelier,  for  salubrious  air 
And  beauteous  prospect  wide  and  far  renowned. 
What  else  could  be,  since  thou  with  winding  tide 
Below  dost  ripple  pleasantly,  thy  green 
And  osiered  banks  outspread,  where,   frequent  seen, 
The  browsing  heifer  shows  her  dappled  side, 
And  'mid  the  bloom-bright  furze  are  oft  descried 
Anglers,  that  patient  o'er  thy  mirror  lean?" 

It  was  largely  owing  to  the  monks  that  in  late  years  Scot- 
land became  so  famous  for  its  trees.  If  Cadzow  has  its 
Caledonian  oaks,  and  Fortingall,  at  the  base  of  Ben  Lawers, 
its  yew  tree  3000  years  old  (as  some  allege), — centuries  before 
Roman  soldiers  ventured  the  Grampians,  or  Pontius  Pilate  (of 
whom  tradition  declares  that  he  was  born  there,  the  son  of  a 
Roman  general  serving  in  Britain)  was  born, — the  trees  of  which 
the  monks  were  directly  or  indirectly  the  fathers  can  be  widely 
traced  all  over  the  country.  The  oaks  and  yews  at  Keir,  near 
Stirling,  Queen  Mary's  sycamore  at  Scone  Palace,  still  stand- 
ing, and  said  to  have  been  planted  by  her,  and,  hard  by,  an  oak 
planted  by  James  VI. ; — the  last  two  trees  of  great  Birnam 
Wood,  near  Dunkeld,  one  of  them  an  oak,  18  feet  in  girth, 
the  other,  a  sycamore  19^  feet  in  girth; — the  great  yew  trees 
beside  Dunkeld  Cathedral,  which  some  date  back  to  the  Cul- 
dees,  who  had  one  of  their  oldest  seats  there ; — the  great  beech 

(10!) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

hedge  of  Meikleour  in  Perthshire,  80  feet  high,  580  yards  long, 
planted  in  1746; — the  Newbattle  beech,  the  largest  beech  in 
the  west  of  Europe,  and  the  survivor  of  a  magnificent  pair 
which  even  so  late  as  the  middle  of  last  century  adorned 
the  grounds  of  Newbattle  Abbey — can  all  be  traced  more  or  less 
to  monastic  influence,  culture,,  and  care.  Auchmore,  a  seat 
of  the  Marquess  of  Breadalbane,  boasts  the  Kinnell  Vine 
(Black  Hamburg),  at  the  old  house  of  Kinnell,  planted  in 
1832,  and  now  the  largest  in  the  world,  filling  a  glass-house 
170  feet  long.  It  is  about  fifty  years  old,  and  is  still  in 
fine  bearing  condition.  It,  too,  is  undoubtedly  the  child 
of  the  monasteries.  When  Professor  Blackie  saw  this  tree 
he  was  so  affected  that  he  has  written, — "  I  made  a  vow  on  the 
spot,  whenever  I  might  be  troubled  with  low  and  vulgar  imagin- 
ations, to  think  upon  this  vine."  He  also  wrote  the  follow- 
ing:— 

LINES  TO  THE  KINNELL  VINE,  AUCHMORE. 
"  Come  hither  all  who  love  to  feed  your  eyes 

On  goodly  sights,  and  join  your  joy  with  mine, 
Beholding,  with  wide  look  of  glad  surprise, 

The  many-branching  glory  of  this  vine, 
Pride  of  Kinnell  !     The  eye  will  have  its  due, 

And  God  provides  rich  banquet,  amply  spread, 
From  star-lit  cope  to  huge  Bens  swathed  in  blue, 

And  this  empurpled  growth  that  overhead 
Vaults  us  with  pendant  fruit.     Oh,  I  would  take 

This  lordly  vine,  and  hang  it  for  a  sign 
Even  in  my  front  of  estimate,  and  make 

Its  presence  teach  me  with  a  voice  divine — 

Go  hence,  and  in  sure  memory  keep  with  thee, 
To  shame  all  paltry  thoughts,  this  noble  tree  !" 

Scotland,  though  once  far  behind  England  and  other 
lands  in  arboriculture,  through  the  labours  of  the  monastic 
orders,  became  a  great  home  for  trees,  and  the  children  of 
what  the  monks  sowed  are  to-day  the  wonders  of  modern 
forestry. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  richness  of  the 
agricultural  lands  around  Inveresk  and  throughout  Midlothian, 
and  along  the  east  coast, — a  fecundity  so  proverbial  that  it  is 
believed  to  be  the  richest  tract  of  land  in  Europe, — is  owing 
to  the  agricultural  skill  of  the  monastic  fathers,  who  divided 
their  day  between  the  altar  and  the  plough.  We  reap  what 
they  sowed.  The  monastic  village  round  Newbattle  Abbey, 
which  can  still  be  traced,  consisted  of  a  long  street  of  cottages 
for  smiths,  carpenters,  shepherds,  &c.,  and  these  latter  were 
sent  out  into  all  the  lands  round  about  to  break  new  ground, 

(102) 


THE  MONKS  OF  NEW  BATTLE  AND  1NVERESK. 

and  to  instruct  the  people  in  the  arts  of  agriculture,  gardening, 
and  forestry.  The  carts  made  at  Newbattle  Monastery  were 
in  the  Middle  Ages  so  famous  that  they  came  to  be  counted 
in  payments,  and  mentioned  in  charters  and  agreements.  These 
carts  would  often  be  seen  in  Musselburgh  in  the  olden  days, 
and  would  convey  coals  from  the  mines  at  Newbattle  to  the 
ports  along  the  east  coast. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  well-known  and  deservedly- 
famous  "  Musselburgh  leek  "  was  originated  by  the  monks. 
To  verify  this,  I  ventured  to  submit  the  question  to  our 
ablest  and  best  known  Scottish  gardener  and  authority,  and 
was  indebted  to  his  great  courtesy  and  genial  friendliness  for 
the  following  reply.  Mr  Malcolm  Dunn,  late  gardener  to  the 
Duke  of  Buccleuch,  says  : — 

"It  is  well  known  that  the  ecclesiastical  bodies  were  the  great 
patrons  of  gardening  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  laid  out  gardens  near 
their  religious  houses,  in  which  the  monks  and  their  retainers  culti- 
vated, with  more  or  less  success,  many  of  the  plants,  fruits,  and 
vegetables  in  use  at  the  present  time.  Of  course,  since  that  period 
great  improvement  has  been  wrought  on  the  varieties  of  fruit  and 
vegetables,  but  still  many  of  the  identical  varieties  of  them  cultivated 
in  monkish  times  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  neighbourhood  of  ancient 
ecclesiastical  edifices.  All  this,  and  much  more  connected  with  the 
subject,  is  found  in  gardening  literature;  but  although  I  have  a  fairly 

food  collection  of  books  on  gardening,  I  am  sorry  to  say  I  cannot 
nd  anything  in  them  bearing  directly  on  horticulture  as  -practised 
by  the  monks  at  Newbattle.  I  am  not  aware  that  there  is  any  record, 
except  oral  tradition,  of  the  introduction  of  the  leek  to  this  part  of 
Scotland  by  the  monks  of  Newbattle ;  but  it  is  quite  within  the  bounds 
of  probability.  The  leek  is  a  native  of  Switzerland,  and  it  is  known 
to  have  been  cultivated  in  Britain  in  the  fifteenth  century,  but  it  is 
likely  to  have  been  introduced  at  a  much  earlier  period,  and  would 
no  doubt  be  cultivated  by  the  monks  at  Newbattle  in  the  heyday  of 
their  prosperity.  From  the  Abbey  gardens  it  would  readily  pass  into 
those  of  the  wealthy  of  the  period,  and  gradually  spread  through 
farmer  and  cottager,  till  it  reached  Musselburgh,  in  the  rich,  deep 
soil  and  mild  climate  of  which  it  ultimately  developed  into  that 
famous  modern  horticultural  product,  the  Musselburgh  Leek.  So  far 
as  the  name  of  that  leek  is  concerned  with  monkish  times,  it  can  only 
be  through  a  long  ancestry,  beginning  in  a  primitive  form  of  the 
modern  succulent  vegetable.  The  variety  now  known  as  the  '  Mussel- 
burgh Leek '  is  a  selection  of  the  older  type  of  '  Scotch  Leek,'  and 
received  its  name  by  being  largely  grown  around  Musselburgh  in 
private  and  market  gardens.  It  has  been  known  by  that  name  among 
gardeners  for  about  sixty  years,  and  is  recognised  as  the  hardiest  type 
of  leek  now  in  cultivation. 

"  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  give  you  any  list  from  a  safe  source  of  the 
fruits  and  vegetables  cultivated  by  the  monks  of  Newbattle ;  but 
perhaps  you  might  find  some  mention  made  of  them  in  old  records 
concerning  the  Abbey.  I  have  never  looked  through  Newbattle 
grounds  to  see  if  there  are  any  of  the  old  fruit  trees  that  may  have 
come  down  from  monkish  times,  but  such  trees  exist  at  or  near  other 
monastic  sites,  such  as  Jedburgh,  Dryburgh,  Melrose  (?),  New  Abbey, 

(103) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Falkland,  Lindores,  Fife,  and  several  other  places ;  a  notable  instance 
of  which  we  saw  at  Pluscardine  Priory,  in  Morayshire,  last  month, 
where  there  is  a  pear-tree  from  which  it  is  said  the  monks  gathered 
fruit." 

The  neighbourhood  of  Musselburgh  and  Prestonpans  is 
exceptionally  favourable  to  growth,  being  the  part  of  Scotland 
least  visited  by  rain  and  most  genial,  being,  like  the  Moray 
Firth,  touched  by  a  branch  of  the  Gulf  Stream. 

The  mills  of  Musselburgh  were  famous,  and  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  they  were  begun  by  the  monks  for  the  purpose 
of  grinding  the  corn  grown  on  their  lands.  The  Dunfermline 
abbots  seem  to  have  had  disputes  frequently  with  the  vicar 
of  Inveresk  (who  was,  of  course,  under  his  diocesan  bishop) 
as  to  the  tithes  of  fish  and  mills.  Chalmers  relates  the  story 
of  one  of  these  disputes,  and  the  diocesan  bishop  decreed  that 
"the  small  tithes  and  the  offerings  ot  the  altars  of  Mussel- 
burgh, excepting  the  fish  of  every  sort,  and  the  tithes  of  the 
mills  belonging  to  the  monks,  were  to  be  given  to  the  vicar, 
for  which  he  was  directed  to  pay  yearly  10  merks." 

Newbattle  Abbey  had  three  or  four  mills,  and  these,  like- 
wise, were  great  sources  of  profit,  and,  like  the  mills  of  Mussel- 
burgh, testified  to  the  practical  shrewdness  and  agricultural 
energy  of  the  monks.  Probably,  however,  the  mills  of  Mussel- 
burgh all  belonged  to  the  Abbot  of  Dunfermline,  who,  by  the 
charter  of  Malcolm  Canmore  and  Queen  Margaret,  his  queen, 
was  made  proprietor, — a  charter  confirmed  by  David  I.,  who 
added  as  an  additional  gift,  "  Great  Inveresk,"  or  Mussel- 
burgh, "  with  the  mill,  the  fishing,  and  the  church  of  Inveresk, 
its  tithes,  and  the  port  of  Esk-muthe." 

The  zeal  and  energy  of  the  Newbattle  monks  was  not, 
however,  confined  to  agriculture;  they  were  the  first  coal- 
workers  of  Scotland,  and  are  thus  the  fathers  of  Britain's 
commercial  greatness.  As  is  well  known,  they  did  not  sink 
shafts  into  the  ground,  but  wrought  the  coal  from  the  outside, 
into  the  face  of  the  hill.  Many  of  these  coal-holes  can  still 
be  traced  in  the  banks  of  the  Esk  at  Newbattle.  Father 
Hay,  in  his  letters,  speaks  of  the  curious  fact,  that  the 
Newbattle  monks  gave  gifts  to  the  poor  of  "  black  stones," 
meaning  coal.  They  worked  the  coal  in  this  primitive  way 
so  successfully  that  their  trade  and  interests  rapidly  extended. 
They  acquired,  by  royal  gift,  vast  tracts  of  land  in  Lanark- 
shire, the  name  "  Monk-land  "  being  given  to  their  property. 

(104) 


THE  MONKS  OF  NEW  BATTLE  AND  1NVERESK. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  vast  Black  Country  of  Scot- 
land was  first  developed  by  these  men,  who  in  time  raised 
churches  all  over  the  Monkland  district,  drawing  the  revenues, 
and  appointing  the  vicars.  Indeed,  their  coal-fields  were  not 
confined  to  Newbattle  and  Monkland,  for  in  the  Newbattle 
chartulary  there  is  a  grant  made  of  a  coal  mine  near  Inveresk 
by  Seyer  de  Quinci,  the  date  of  which  must  be  between  1210 
and  1219.  The  following  is  a  translation  of  this  interesting 
document : — 

"To  all  the  sons  of  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Seyr  de  Quinci, 
Earl  of  Wyntoun,  greeting  :  know  that  I  have  given  and  have  con- 
firmed by  this  my  charter,  to  God  and  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  of 
Newbottle,  and  to  monks  serving  God  in  that  place,  for  an  uncondi- 
tional and  perpetual  gift,  and  for  the  increase  of  the  church,  which 
Robert  my  father  bestowed  on  the  same, — to  wit,  in  the  territory  of 
Tranent,  the  full  half  of  the  marsh  extending  from  west  to  east  as 
far  as  the  river  Whitrig,  that  is  to  say,  that  portion  which  lies  nearei 
to  the  cultivated  land.  Further,  the  Coal  Heuch  and  quarry  (carbon- 
arium  et  quarrarium)  between  the  aforesaid  river  Whitrig,  and  the 
bounds  of  Pinkie  and  Inveresk,  and  in  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  sea. 
Therefore  I  will  and  direct  that  no  one  of  my  men  may  have  any 
share  either  in  the  pasture  or  in  the  Coal  Heuch,  or  in  the  Quarry, 
which  are  situated  within  the  bounds  of  Prestongrange,  with- 
out the  consent  of  goodwill  of  the  same  monks.  Before  these 
witnesses,  W.,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  Ingram  of  Ballia,  Simon  de 
Quinci,  Alexander  of  Seton,  and  others.  And  note  the  seal  which  this 
charter  has,  different  from  others."  William  was  Bishop  of  St. 
Andrews  in  1202 ;  Simon  de  Quinci  set  out  for  Palestine  in  1218,  and 
died  there  in  1219;  hence  the  date  of  this  charter  is  approximately 
fixed  from  1202  to  1218. — Newbattle  Chartulary,  p.  53. 

In  1531  there  was  a  contract  between  the  abbots  of  Dun- 
fermline  and  Newbattle,  by  which  the  latter  became  bound 
to  "  drive  the  coill  of  Preston  Grange  to  the  bounds  of  Pinkin 
(Pinkie)  and  Inveresk." 

The  Newbattle  coal,  as  well  as  the  coal  wrought  by  the 
Newbattle  monks  at  the  coast,  was  shipped  away  to  various 
parts  from  Eskmuthe,  though  generally  from  Port  Seton,  Mori- 
son's  Haven,  and  other  small  ports  east  of  Musselburgh. 

The  coal  trade  of  the  Newbattle  monks  must  have  been 
a  very  vigorous  one,  for  they  actually  went  to  the  expense 
of  constructing  a  great  road  from  Newbattle  Abbey  across 
country  to  the  coast,  which  can  still  be  traced  in  what  is  known 
as  the  "  Salters'  Road."  By  this  highway  the  Newbattle  coal 
was  taken  in  carts  made  by  the  monks  themselves,  to  the  sea, 
and  there  shipped.  Probably  much  of  the  Newbattle  coal 
was  shipped  at  Musselburgh  and  Morison's  Haven,  while  the 
coals  acquired  at  the  pits  belonging  to  the  Abbot  of  Newbattle, 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

between  Pinkie  and  Tranent,  were  shipped  at  the  smaller  ports 
to  the  east. 

The  carts  returning  from  Musselburgh  did  not  come  home 
empty.  These  old  fathers  were  far  too  wise  to  permit  unremuner- 
ative  labour.  Consequently  the  carts  were  often  filled  with  mus- 
sels and  oysters,  of  both  of  which  the  fathers  seem  to  have  been 
very  fond.  Over  and  over  again  round  Newbattle  Abbey  great 
pits  filled  with  oyster  shells  have  been  come  upon,  and  the 
writer  has  a  considerable  number  of  these  in  his  possession. 
They  could  only  have  come  from  Musselburgh.  The  com- 
mercial instinct  was  thus  early  manifested,  which  in  our  own 
day  results  in  cheap  foreign  fruit, — vessels  going  out  from  our 
British  ports  with  coal  to  Spain,  and  returning  with  copper, 
which,  being  heavy  and  less  bulky  than  the  black  diamonds, 
leaves  a  great  space  in  the  hold  of  the  ship,  which  is  filled  up 
with  melons,  &c.,  thus  making  these  fruits  very  cheap.  Oysters 
were  the  return  cargo  of  the  Newbattle  carts,  besides  fish  of 
all  kinds  for  the  monks'  use,  and  nets  for  their  gardens.  It 
is  remarkable  how  often  in  the  inland  monasteries  and  churches 
of  Midlothian,  the  oyster,  sea-kail,  and  star-fish  appear  as 
ornaments.  In  Roslin  Church  there  is  quite  a  study  in  sea- 
produce  on  the  pillars  and  arches,  as  there  is  also  of  the  plants 
and  flowers  of  the  Esk  valley.  The  sight  of  the  sea  produce 
seems  to  have  been  a  refreshment  to  the  inland  dwellers,  as 
it  still  is  even  to  the  little  child,  who  carries  home  from  the 
sounding  sea  beach  a  kerchief-ful  of  shells. 

Another  import,  too,  came  through  Musselburgh  to  New- 
battle,  namely,  wine  from  the  Continent,  brought  by  ships  from 
the  French  ports.  The  Cistercian  Order  began  at  Citeaux 
(hence  the  name),  in  the  Burgundy  district  of  France,  and 
the  wines  made  by  the  Order  became  famous. 

In  the  midst  of  the  celebrated  vineyards  of  Romanic, 
Richebourg,  La  Tache,  &c. — the  wines  of  which  were  brought 
into  fashion  by  Louis  XIV.,  for  whom  they  were  exclusively 
prescribed  by  the  royal  physician  Fagon  as  a  means  of  restoring 
his  strength — and  about  seven  miles  from  the  chief  city  of  this 
wine-country  and  vineyard-garden, — Nuits,  a  town  to-day  of 
some  3000  inhabitants — stand  the  ruins  of  the  celebrated  abbey 
of  Citeaux,  which  gave  the  name  to  one  of  the  most  powerful 
of  all  the  monastic  Order — the  "Citercians,"  or  "Cistercians." 
The  abbey  was  founded  by  Robert  de  Molesme  in  1090,  and 

(106) 


THE  MONKS  OF  NEWBATTLE  AND  1NVERESK. 

within  its  walls  the  great  St.  Bernard  assumed  the  cowl  in 
1113.  This  abbey  became  the  mother-house  of  the  Cistercian 
Order  all  over  the  world;  it  gave  four  Popes  to  the  Roman 
See,  and  was  the  mother  of  no  fewer  than  3600  houses  of  the 
Order.  To-day  only  a  few  ruins  of  the  ancient  abbey  exist, 
but  the  vineyards  and  oliveyards  which  the  monks  planted  are 
still  famous.  The  prince  of  Burgundy  wines — "  Clos  de 
Vougeot  " — is  still  made  from  the  monastic  vineries.  The 
monks  never  sold  it,  but  made  gifts  of  what  they  could  not 
use  to  their  friends.  The  average  annual  produce  of  this 
vineyard  is  200  hogsheads,  and  some  450  vintagers  are  em- 
ployed at  vintage  time.  This  is  the  land,  too,  of  "  Beaune  " 
wine,  the  chief  wine  of  the  Burgundy  district;  and  the  most 
celebrated  wines  and  vineyards  of  the  world  are  to  be  found 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  old  abbey  walls.  The  lands  around 
the  ancient  Abbey  of  Citeaux  are  probably  the  richest  in  the 
world.  About  a  mile  south-west  of  Dijon  begins  a  chain  of 
hills  known  as  the  "  Cote  d'Or  " — a  wall  of  hills  sheltering 
innumerable  vineyards.  In  richness  of  flavour,  in  all  the  more 
delicate  qualities  of  the  juice  of  the  grape,  the  vines  of  this 
department  of  France  rank  highest  of  all ;  so  much  so,  that 
the  old  Dukes  of  Burgundy  were  designated  Princes  des  bans 
vins.  The  choicest  red  wines  of  the  Cote  d'Or  are  the  "  Clos 
Vougeot,"  "  Nuits,"  "Beaune,"  "  Volnay,"  "Poniard," 
"  Chambertin,"  "  Richebourg,"  "  Romance,"  and  "St. 
George."  Their  beautiful  colour  and  exquisite  flavour  and 
aroma  make  them  valuable  beyond  all  others,  and  one  need 
hardly  wonder  that  the  kings  of  France  coveted  this  rich  Bur- 
gundian  territory.  The  development  of  this  industry,  the 
cultivation  of  this  magnificent  soil,  and  the  perfecting  of  the 
vine,  were  all  the  work  of  the  Cistercian  monks  who  made 
Citeaux  their  earliest  home.  They  began  there  the  industrial 
work  which  became  a  characteristic  of  their  Order  in  every 
succeeding  age,  and  all  over  the  world. 

The  French  wines — claret  and  Burgundy  especially — - 
were  largely  shipped  to  Scotland,  and  the  Newbattle  monks 
brought  these  in  carts  from  Musselburgh  overland  to  their 
monastery,  some  six  miles  inland.  Doubtless  these  French 
wares  were  highly  prized,  and  served  to  connect  the  Cistercian 
fathers  of  Newbattle  in  a  very  genial  way  with  the  fathers  of 
the  parent-house  at  Citeaux.  The  rich  red  Burgundy,  carried 

(107) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

by  cart  and  ship  over  land  and  sea,  would  remind  the  New- 
battle  fathers,  in  days  of  snowstorm  and  sleet,  when  the  river 
would  overflow  its  banks  and  flood  the  ancient  crypt,  still 
standing,  of  the  brighter  skies,  the  genial  vineyards,  and 
warmer  airs  of  sunn^.  France,  where  their  brethren  laboured 
and  prayed. 

In  Newbattle  Abbey  there  is  still  preserved  a  very  fine 
bas-relief  representing!  wine-making — a  wine-vat,  net,  ladle, 
cluster  of  grapes,  ancl  the  implements  of  wine-making — the 
sculpture  as  clear  and  distinct  as  on  the  day  on  which  it  was 
carved.  *  Even  in  later  days,  the  French  wines  thus  introduced 
by  the  monks  continued  to  be  the  wines  of  Scotland,  John 
Knox  himself  being  partial  to  good  French  claret. 

Doubtless,  too,  the  old  monks  of  Newbattle  often  fished 
their  way  down  the  Esk  to  Musselburgh  and  the  sea.  The 
connection  altogether  between  old  Newbottle,  "  all  to  the  tae 
side,"  and  "  the  honest  toun  "  of  Musselburgh  is  deeply  inter- 
esting, and  invested  with  a  large  amount  of  historic  charm. 


(108) 


IX. 

THE  VICISSITUDES  OF  THE  NEWBATTLE 
CHARTULARY. 

A  MOST  curious  and  instructive  instance  of  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  manuscripts  has  just  come  to  light  in  con- 
nection with  the  chartulary  of  Newbattle  Abbey — a 
small  close-written  folio  volume,  bound  in  wooden 
boards  with  strings,  and  which  now  reposes  in  the 
Advocates'    Library   in   Edinburgh.        On   the   board   of   this 
priceless  volume — the  record  for  more  than  four  hundred  years 
of  all  the  doings  and  life  of  one  of  the  greatest  Cistercian 
abbeys   in   Britain,   which   gave   sepulture   to   sovereigns,    and 
entertainment  to  almost  every  royalty  in  Scottish  history — there 
is  the  inscription — "  Bought  from  Ja.   M'Ewan,   23rd  April, 
1723,    for  ;£i2,    i2s. — D.H."       The   present   librarian   has 
courteously  furnished  a  copy  of  this  inscription,1  and  adds — 
"  In  1723,  Spottiswoode  was  librarian.     Who  '  D.H.'  was  I 
do  not  know,  but  he  was  very  probably  the  one  from  whom 
the  library  acquired  it  either  by  gift  or  purchase,  but  of  this 
we  have  no  record,  unless  the  old  treasurer's  accounts  have  a 
note  of  it,  supposing  it  was  bought.     I  am  not  sure  if  the 
accounts  of  that  date  exist.     The  MS.  is  entered  in  Ruddi- 
man's  catalogue  of  1742." 

The  mystery  of  how  the  chartulary  of  Newbattle  came  to 
find  its  way  to  the  Advocates'  Library  in  Edinburgh,  instead 
of  being  found,  as  one  would  naturally  expect,  in  the  library 
of  Newbattle  House,  already  so  rich  in  priceless  mediaeval 
parchments,  is  one  of  the  romances  of  literature.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  at  the  Reformation  the  abbey  quietly  de- 
veloped into  a  mansion-house,  where  in  the  course  of  genera- 
tions not  only  a  magnificent  library,  but  also  a  unique  collection 
of  antiquities,  ecclesiastical  and  civil,  has  gathered.  There 
was  no  rude  hand  to  destroy  the  peculiarly  valuable  historic 
record  of  the  religious  house,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact,  till  the 

(109) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

year  of  the  Revolution  (1688)  the  Newbattle  chartulary  formed 
the  historical  prize  of  the  Earl  of  Lothian's  library.  Through 
the  courtesy  and  kindness  of  the  late  Marquess  of  Lothian, 
we  are  now  enabled  to  print,  for  the  first  time,  the  letters  (still 
preserved  in  the  archives  of  Newbattle  House)  which  tell  the 
story  of  the  chartulary 's  disappearance  from  Newbattle,  and 
its  subsequent  reappearance  in  the  Advocates'  Library,  Edin- 
burgh. 

Very  curiously,  the  hand  by  which  the  chartulary  passed 
away  from  Newbattle  was  the  hand  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
priest.  Father  Hay  is  well  known  from  his  gossipy  letters 
which  preserve  a  great  deal  of  floating  information  regarding 
the  state  of  religion  and  religious  houses  in  Britain  as  he  viewed 
matters  about  the  beginning  of  the  last  quarter  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Father  Hay  came  of  the  family  of  Yester 
Hay,  being  the  grandson  of  Sir  John  Hay  of  Barra,  of  the 
family  of  Fala,  Lord  Clerk  Register  in  the  Reign  of  Charles ; 
who  was  lineally  descended  from  Sir  Edmund  Hay  of 
Limplum,  younger  brother  of  Sir  David  Hay  of  Yester, 
ancestor  of  the  Marquess  of  Tweeddale.  This  Sir  John  Hay 
was  tried  in  Edinburgh  for  high  treason,  and,  it  is  said,  only 
escaped  the  scaffold  by  bribing  the  Earl  of  Lanark  with  the 
rents  of  his  estate  during  his  life.  He  retired  latterly  to  Dud- 
dingston,  and  died  there  on  November  2oth,  1654.  His  second 
son  by  his  second  wife,  Thomas  Hay  of  Hermiston,  was  the 
first  of  the  Hays  of  Alderstone;  and  his  third  son  by  the 
same  wife  was  the  father  of  Richard  Hay,  who  is  known  to 
historians,  antiquarians,  and  ecclesiologists  as  "  Father  Hay." 
Richard  Hay  was  born  in  Edinburgh  in  1601,  and,  as  he  says 
himself,  was  "  thrust  "  into  the  Scots  College  in  France  in 
1673.  He  left  France  in  1686  to  establish  a  society  of  canons 
regular  in  Scotland,  and  while  there  he  borrowed  the  Newbattle 
chartulary  from  the  Earl  of  Lothian  in  order  to  inspect  several 
of  the  old  charters.  The  Revolution  of  1688  suddenly  broke 
out,  and  he  had  to  retreat  to  France,  carrying  with  him  the 
Newbattle  chartulary,  and  while  in  Paris  in  that  year  he 
suddenly  sank  and  died. 

On  his  deathbed  he  dedicated  the  following  declaration, 
which  has  been  copied  direct  from  the  original  deed  in  Lord 
Lothian's  possession  : — 

I,  Mr  Richard  Hay,  Canon  Regular  of  St.  Geneveve  att  Paris, 
(no) 


THE  VICISSITUDES  OF  THE  NEWBATTLE  CHARTULARY. 

do  hereby  testify  and  declare  to  all  concerned  that  the  Chartulary 
Book  of  the  Abbacy  of  Newbottle  belonging  to  the  Most  Honble.  the 
Marquess  of  Lothian  his  family,  was  putt  into  my  custody  in  the 
year  1688  in  order  to  read  and  explain  some  charters  contained  therein, 
and  upon  my  being  obliged  to  leave  this  kingdom  in  the  year  1689 
the  same  was  putt  into  the  hands  of  Sir  James  Dalrymple  of  Borth- 
wick  in  order  to  be  restored  to  the  Marquess  of  Lothian  in  the  same 
case  and  condition  which  I  then  putt  down  in  writing  in  my  pockett 
book,  and  is  as  follows  : — A  book  of  records  of  Newbotle  consisting 
of  eighty-seven  leavs,  the  first  six  being  an  Index.  On  the  first  side 
are  these  words — De  terris  sitis  infra  constabularium  de  Edinbough, 
and  afterwards  De  Situ  Abbatue  Carta  Regis  David.  Betwixt  the 
Table  and  first  Charter  of  King  David  are  three  leavs.  The  last  leaf 
contains  a  charter  Hagonis  Duglas  feodi  fismae  (?).  The  last  witnesses 
are  Onus.  Thomas  Reid,  Onus.  Robertus  Spictale.  The  sixteen  last 
leavs  seem  to  have  been  written  by  order  of  Patrick  Abbot  of  Newbotle. 
On  the  broad  att  the  end  of  the  book  I  find  Adam  Adamson  manu 
propria.  It  is  bound  in  timber  broads  covered  with  black  stampt 
leather.  The  broads  are  spoilt  with  the  worms.  The  book  is  thin 
— it  does  not  exceed  an  inch.  It  is  part  of  an  old  character  and 
part  of  a  new.  [This  being  end  of  first  page  is  signed]  Richard  Haye. 
It.  is  in  pretty  good  order.  The  charters  are  sett  down  by  the  Shires 
wherein  the  Lands  are  seated,  the  order  as  follows  : — First,  the  lands 
that  lye  within  the  Shire  of  Edr. ;  then  those  that  lye  within  the 
Constabulary  of  Haddingtoun ;  third,  those  that  lye  within  the  Sher- 
ifdome  of  Peebles ;  fourthly,  those  that  lyes  in  the  Shire  of  Lanerk. 
Those  charters  are  not  so  exactly  sett  down,  but  now  and  then  the 
writter  mixes  one  with  the  other.  The  book  contains  severall  Bulls, 
charters,  instruments  &c.,  and  belongs  to  the  Earl  (now  Marquess) 
of  Lothian,  and  in  testimony  of  the  truth  of  the  whole  preemisses,  I 
have  subscribed  thir  presents,  consisting  of  this  and  the  page  pre- 
ceeding,  befor  these  witnesses,  Mr  George  Crawfurd,  brother  to  the 
laird  of  Carseburn,  and  William  Douglas,  yr.  of  Glenbervie,  writter 
hereoff  att  Edinbr.  the  twenty-third  of  ffebruary?  and  thirty  one  years. 

RICHARD  HAYE. 
Geo.  Craufurd  witness. 

Will.  Douglas  witness. 

The  dying  priest's  wishes  were  not  carried  out,  for  along- 
side of  Father  Hay's  last  declaration,  in  the  bunch  of  letters 
regarding  the  chartulary  now  in  Newbattle  House  is  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  the  Earl  of  Ancram  addressed  to  Sir  John 
Dalrymple,  into  whose  hands  as  a  relative  of  Father  Hay  the 
chartulary  had  fallen  : — 

NEWBATTLE,  Feb.  20,  1740. 

SIR, — I  have  my  Father's  orders  to  call  for  any  papers  that  belong 
to  his  Family  in  whosoever  hands  they  may  be;  I  have  accordingly 
informed  myself  very  exactly  about  the  Chartulary  of  the  Abbacie  of 
Newbattle,  and  find  that  it  was  in  your  hands,  and  as  I  propose  to 
have  all  my  Father's  papers  together  before  he  comes  to  this  country, 
I  must  desire  you  will  send  the  Chartulary  as  soon  as  possible. — I  am, 
Sir,  &c.,  ANCRAM. 

Sir  John  Dalrymple's  reply  (undated)  is  as  follows  : — 

MY  LORD, — I  found  the  Chartulary  yr.  Lo/  mentions  with  a  great 
many  other  ancient  records  in  my  father's-  possession  at  his  death, 

(in) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

and  as  I  had  no  tast  for  that  study  wh.  he  delighted  much  in,  and 
knew  not  how  he  had  com  by  them  I  put  them  into  such  hands  as  I 
thought  could  make  a  better  use  of  them.  The  Chartulary  of  New- 
bottle  I  believe  was  given  into  the  Advocates'  Library,  who  have 
several  others  of  these  ancient  Chartularies.  I  offer  my  humble 
respects  to  my  Lady  Ancram,  &c. — I  am,  my  Lord, 

Jo.  DALEYMPLE. 

And  thus  the  Newbattle  chartulary  found  its  way  into 
the  Advocates'  Library,  of  which  it  is  now  one  of  its  greatest 
treasures,  though  Newbattle  House  would  seem  to  be  the 
natural  resting-place  of  so  historical  and  valuable  a  volume. 
At  any  rate,  thus  closes  another  of  the  romances  of  literature 
and  of  the  vicissitudes  of  manuscripts. 


(112) 


X. 

THE  HOUSE  OF  LOTHIAN. 

SOME  little  account  of  the  origin  of  the  house  of  Lothian 
will  prove  interesting.  The  title  of  "  Lord  Ancrum  " 
(or  "  Ancram  ")  was  first  conferred  on  Sir  Robert 
Ker  of  Ancrum  in  Roxburghshire,  the  poet  and 
courtier,  and  himself  the  descendant  of  Sir  Andrew 
Ker  of  Ferniehirst,  a  Border  chief  who  acted  a  prominent 
part  in  the  reigns  of  James  IV.  and  James  V.  in  resisting 
the  incursions  of  the  English. 

The  name  "Ancrum"  is  derived  from  "  Alncromb  "  or 
"  Alncrumb,"  meaning  the  crook  of  the  Ale  or  Aln,  and  de- 
scribes very  vividly  the  situation  of  the  little  village  of  Ancrum, 
which  stands  on  a  curve  of  the  land  formed  by  the  river  Ale 
immediately  before  it  joins  the  Teviot.  Lilliard's  Edge,  near 
the  village,  is  famous  for  the  battle  fought  there  with  the 
English  in  1544,  who  were  commanded  by  Sir  Ralph  Evers 
and  Sir  Brian  Latoun,  and,  as  everyone  knows,  the  young 
Scotswoman  named  Lilliard  made  herself  celebrated  in  history 
by  following  the  Scots  army,  and  when  she  saw  her  lover  fall, 
threw  herself  into  the  breach,  and  by  her  gallantry  turned 
the  fight  in  favour  of  Scotland.  Slain  in  the  encounter,  her 
name  and  fame  are  commemorated  in  the  old  stone  which 
every  Borderer  knows  well. 

The  Sir  Robert  Ker  who  was  made  the  first  Earl  of 
Ancrum,  and  who  is  the  direct  male  ancestor  of  the  house  of 
Lothian,  was  born  in  1578.  Charles  I.,  in  1625,  made  him 
Lord  of  the  Bedchamber,  and  in  1633  created  him  Earl  of 
Ancrum  and  Lord  Ker  of  Nisbet.  He  distinguished  himself 
during  that  troubled  age  by  his  devotion  to  the  King,  and 
after  Charles'  execution  was  compelled  to  take  refuge  in  Hol- 
land, where,  after  being  reduced  to  the  deepest  poverty,  he 
died  in  1659. 

Not  only  as  a  courtier  and  politician,  but  also  as  a  sweet 
and  melodious  poet,  his  name  is  remembered  to-day.  His 
H  ("3) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

"  Sonnet  in  Praise  of  a  Solitary  Life,"  addressed  to  Drum- 
mond  of  Hawthornden,  the  muse  of  the  Esk  valley  in  1624, 
which  is  always  printed  along  with  the  accompanying  letter 
in  the  works  of  the  great  Royalist  bard,  is  singularly  melli- 
fluous, and  in  its  love  of  seclusion  seems  to  echo  the  monastic 
aspirations  of  those  who  founded  the  noble  house  of  Newbattle, 
with  which  his  heirs  became  so  intimately  allied. 

The  troubles  of  the  time  seem  to  have  driven  the  Border 
nobleman  to  the  same  intellectual  position  as  Archbishop  Leigh- 
ton,  who  sighed  with  many  others  after  a  life  free  of  bloodshed 
and  contest  and  dispute,  and  whose  pacific  writings,  many  of 
them  penned  at  Newbattle  during  his  eleven  years'  ministry 
there,  are  the  echo  of  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  noblest 
spirits  of  his  age. 

The  last  Abbot  of  Newbattle  monastery,  —  one  of  the 
wealthiest  houses  in  Scotland, — was  Mark  Ker,  second  son 
of  Sir  Andrew  Ker  of  Cessford.  He  became  Abbot  in  1546, 
and  in  the  troubles  of  1560  threw  in  his  lot  with  the  Reformers, 
and  after  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries,  held  Newbattle 
Abbey  and  lands  as  Commendator.  In  course  of  time  the  com- 
mendatorship  was  transformed  into  a  secular  lordship,  the 
lands  and  property  going  along  with  it. 

A  fine  portrait  of  this  last  Abbot  of  Newbattle,  and  earliest 
founder  of  the  Lothian  family,  hangs  in  the  present  residence, 
alongside  of  the  hundreds  of  other  priceless  gems  of  art, 
including  Vandyke's  great  pictures  of  Charles  I.  on  horseback, 
Charles  I.'s  head  in  three  different  positions,  besides  paintings 
by  Rembrandt,  Albert  Diirer,  &c.,  &c.  Mark  Ker  was  one 
of  the  lords  who  met  on  Queen  Mary's  side  at  Hamilton  in 
June,  1567,  and  in  1569  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  three 
judges  "  in  all  actions  for  restitution  of  goods  spoiled  in  the 
recent  troubles."  He  sided  with  Athole  and  Argyle  against 
Morton  in  1578,  and  died  in  1584,  leaving  four  sons  and  one 
daughter. 

His  third  son,  George,  seems  to  have  embraced  the  Roman 
faith,  for  Robertson  refers  to  him  as  an  emissary  "  from  the 
Catholic  noblemen  of  Scotland  to  the  Court  of  Spain  in  1592." 
The  eldest  son,  Mark,  was  created  Baron  Newbottle  (Newbottle 
being  the  original  and  correct  name,  signifying  the  "  new 
residence,"  as  "  Morebottle  "  signifies  "the  large  residence," 
— Melrose  having  been  the  original  abode  of  the  Cistercian 

("4) 


THE  HOUSE  OF  LOTHIAN. 

monks  of  the  south,  and  Newbottle  the  new  offshoot),  and  on 
pth  October,  1604,  was  created  Earl  of  Lothian.  His  third 
daughter,  Lady  Margaret  Ker,  was  the  founder  of  Lady 
Yester's  Church  in  Edinburgh. 

Robert,  second  Earl,  had,  by  his  Countess,  Lady  Anna- 
bella  Campbell,  second  daughter  of  the  seventh  Earl  of  Argyle, 
two  daughters,  and  being  without  male  issue,  he  made  over 
his  estates  to  the  elder  of  them,  Lady  Anne  Ker  and  her  heirs. 
His  next  brother,  however,  assumed  the  title,  but  was  inter- 
dicted in  1632  by  the  Lords  of  Council.  Anne,  Countess  of 
Lothian,  married  William,  eldest  son  of  Robert  Ker,  first  Earl 
of  Ancrum,  and  thus  carried  the  title  into  the  house  of  Fernie- 
hirst. 

The  origin  of  the  Ferniehirst  Kers  was  in  Ralph  Ker, 
who  settled  in  Teviotdale  in  1330,  and  obtained  some  lands  on 
the  banks  of  the  Jed,  calling  them  "  Kershaugh."  His 
descendant  in  1520  was  made  Sir  Andrew  Ker  of  Ferniehirst, 
whose  descendant  again  in  1562, — Sir  Thomas  Ker  of  Fernie- 
hirst,— took  Queen  Mary's  side ;  whose  eldest  son, — Sir  Andrew 
Ker, — got  a  grant  of  Jedburgh  Abbey  lands  and  baronies,  and 
the  title  of  Lord  Jedburgh. 

On  his  brother's  death,  Sir  James  Ker  of  Crailing  became 
second  Lord  Jedburgh,  dying  in  1645 ;  and  his  son, — third 
Lord  Jedburgh, — obtained  from  Charles  II.  a  confirmation  of 
that  peerage  to  him  and  his  male  heirs,  "  to  whom  failing, 
to  William,  Master  of  Newbottle,  son  of  the  Earl  of  Lothian, 
and  his  heirs."  He  died  in  1692  without  issue,  and  the  title 
and  privileges  of  Lord  Jedburgh  devolved  on  William,  Lord 
Newbottle. 

The  representation  of  the  family  in  the  male  line  came  to 
Robert,  Earl  of  Lothian,  descended  from  Robert  Ker  of 
Ancrum,  third  son  .of  Sir  Andrew  Ker  of  Ferniehirst,  the 
famous  Border  chief.  Robert's  son,  William  Ker  of  Ancrum, 
was  assassinated  by  Robert  Ker,  younger  of  Cessford,  in  1590, 
and  his  eldest  son  was  Sir  Robert  Ker,  first  Earl  of  Ancrum. 
Lord  Ancrum's  eldest  son,  William,  married  Anne,  Countess 
of  Lothian,  and  with  her  he  got  the  Lordship  of  Newbottle. 
Thus  came  the  mingling  of  titles  and  the  double  succession, 
and  the  union  of  Newbottle  with  the  Borders. 

This  union  of  the  houses  of  Ancrum  and  Newbottle  re- 
sulted in  a  permanent  succession  for  both;  for  this  eldest  son 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

of  Lord  Ancrum,  on  his  marriage  to  the  Countess  of  Lothian, 
was  created  third  Earl  of  Lothian,  3ist  October,   1631,   and 
distinguished  himself  by  taking  the  Covenanters'  side,  he  and 
Argyle  commanding  the  forces  against  Montrose.     His  eldest 
son  was  made  Marquess  of  Lothian  in  1701,  and  sat  as  Lord 
High  Commissioner  to  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  1692,  was 
one  of  the  Privy  Council  of  King  William,  and  Justice-General 
of   Scotland.     His  son,   William,   the  second   Marquess,   was 
active  in  bringing  about  the  union  of  England  and  Scotland, 
married  the  daughter  of  the  beheaded  Duke  of  Argyle,  and 
lies    buried    in    Westminster    Abbey.        His   son,    the   third 
Marquess,  was  also  Commissioner  for  eight  years  to  the  Church 
of   Scotland,   and  his   son, — Lord   Robert   Ker, — a   youth   of 
great  promise,  was  in  1746  killed  at  the  battle  of  Culloden, 
— "  falling,"  we  are  told,  "  covered  with  blood  and  wounds." 
The  fourth   Marquess    was    a    distinguished   military  officer, 
and  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Fontenoy.     The  fifth  Mar- 
quess,   through   his   marriage   in     1735     with   Lady    Caroline 
D'Arcy,  great-granddaughter  of  the  celebrated  Duke  of  Schom- 
berg,  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  the  Boyne  in  1690,  brought 
the   names    of    Schomberg    and    D'Arcy    into   the    family    of 
Lothian.     One    ancestor    of    the    late    Marquess    of    Lothian 
was  a  friend  of  Drummond  of  Hawthornden,  and  was  a  poet 
himself,  and  to  him  in  his  banishment  Drummond  wrote  : — 
"  Honour  is  that  jewel  which  neither  change  of  Court  nor 
climate  can  rob  you  of;  you  were  born  to  act  great  parts  on 
this  theatre  of  the  world ;  as  your  Prince  is  wise,  so  am  I 
assured  he  is  well  read  in  man,  and  knows  you  are  not  one 
to  be  lost."     Of  the  seventh  Marquess,  Sir  Walter  Scott  wrote, 
with  reference  to  a  kindly  action  which  he  had  performed  : — 
' '  Ay,  Lord  Lothian  is  a  good  man ;  he  is  a  man  from  whom 
any  one  may  receive  a  favour,  and  that's  saying  a  good  deal 
for  any  man  in  these  days."     This  was  the  father  of  the  two 
brothers  who   succeeded  each  other,   the  one   dying   in    1870 
and  the  other  in  1900.     John  William,  seventh  Marquess  of 
Lothian,  in  1831  married  Lady  Cecil  Chetwynd,  daughter  of 
Charles  Chetwynd,  the  second  Earl  Talbot. 

The  eighth  Marquess  was  the  distinguished  Christ  Church 
scholar,  whose  long  period  of  invalid  health,  together  with 
his  great  gifts  as  a  scholar,  and  his  beautiful  character  as  a 
man,  are  fresh  in  the  public  memory. 

(n6) 


THE  HOUSE  OF  LOTHIAN. 

William  Schomberg  Robert  Ker,  the  eighth  Marquess,  born 
in  1832,  who  succeded  his  father  in  1841,  was  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  scholars  ever  turned  out  by  Christ  Church, 
Oxford.  His  contemporaries  have  borne  warm  testimony  to 
his  ripe  knowledge  of  English  and  Continental  literature, — 
more  particularly  the  Classics  of  Spain  and  Italy.  The 
library  of  Newbattle  House  was  greatly  enriched  by  him  with 
literature  of  this  kind.  Soon  after  his  marriage  to  Lady 
Constance  Harriet  Mahonesa,  second  daughter  of  Henry  John 
Chetwynd,  third  Earl  Talbot,  and  eighth  Earl  of  Shrewsbury, 
ill-health  came  over  this  most  charming  personality,  and  for 
years  his  devoted  wife  wheeled  him  in  a  bath-chair  drawn  by 
a  donkey  all  over  the  beautiful  policies,  which  even  yet  are 
redolent  of  that  devoted  pair.  The  touching  nature  of  the 
case, — the  deep  and  real  devotion  which  existed  between  the 
two, — the  accomplishments  and  learning  of  one  who,  destined 
to  great  purposes,  spent  many  years  of  his  life  going  round 
the  routine  of  life  "  like  a  gin-horse,"  as  his  friend,  Bishop 
Wordsworth,  described  his  life  of  compulsory  mechanicalism, 
brightened  only  by  the  sweetness  of  his  wife's  devotion,  the 
beauty  of  the  woodlands  and  its  walks  with  their  snowdrops, 
primrose  beds,  daffodils,  rhododendrons,  and  the  rest  all  in 
turn  as  the  seasons  rolled  round, — comes  home  still  to  many 
hearts.  A  fine  portrait  of  this  great  scholar,  who  at  last  passed 
away  in  1870,  hangs  in  the  house  to-day.  He  is  buried  in 
Jedburgh  Abbey,  and  the  appropriate  text  was  uttered  at  the 
time,  in  the  words  of  Job,  by  one  who  knew  him  well,  and 
did  much  to  cheer  the  monotony  of  his  life, — "  All  the  days 
of  my  appointed  time  will  I  wait  till  my  change  come."  His 
devoted  wife,  who  with  him  took  a  delight  in  visiting  the 
sick  and  sorrowful,  passed  away  some  half-a-dozen  years  ago, 
and  shortly  before  her  decease  wrote  to  the  present  writer, — 
"  Looking  back  on  these  many  years  of  loving  waiting,  my 
only  regret  is  that  I  was  not  able  to  do  more  for  him  and 
others."  One  of  the  many  things  which  occupied  his  attention 
was  an  edition  of  Archbishop  Leighton's  works  in  six  volumes. 
His  ancestor,  William,  third  Earl  of  Lothian,  a  strong  Coven- 
anter, declared  that  he  never  "  did  get  more  good  from  any 
that  stood  in  a  pulpitt." 

I  find  in  Carlyle's  Life  in  London,  vol.  2,  p.  294,  the 
following  reference  to  his  visit  to  Lord  Lothian,  in  August, 

("7) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

1865,  when  he  spent  about  a  week  examining  the  Cromwell 
and  other  letters,  of  which  the  house  is  full : — 

"  Newbattle  is  fine  of  its  kind,  and  finely  Scotch.  Nobody  there 
but  the  two  poor  inmates.  [Footnote  says  Lord  Lothian  had  been  already 
struck,  in  the  midst  of  his  brilliant  promise,  by  the  slow  creeping 
malady  which  eventually  killed  him]  and  a  good-humoured  painter 
(Leslie)  doing  portrait  of  the  lady.  The  lady  took  me  out  to  walk, 
talked  like  a  sad,  serious,  enquiring,  and  intelligent  soul ;  the  sad- 
dest, thin,  kindly,  anxious  face  you  could  anywhere  see.  The 
Marquis  did  not  appear  till  luncheon ;  a  truly  beautiful  young  man, 
body  and  mind,  weaker  than  ever,  hands  now  shaking,  eyes  begin- 
ning to  fail,  but  heart  as  lively  as  ever.  We  had  a  great  deal  of 
innocent,  cheerfully  reasonable  talk,  and  T  daresay  any  advent  might 
be  a  kind  of  relief,  like  a  tree  in  the  steppe,  in  the  melancholy 
monotony  of  such  a  life.  Had  you  and  my  lady  been  fairly  ac- 
quainted, they  would  have  liked  you  well !" 

This  is  part  of  a  letter  to  his  wife,  written  from  Scotsbrig. 
Remembering  Archbishop  Leighton's  saintly  life,  Lord  Lothian 
arranged  a  fine  six-volume  edition  of  his  works,  and  otherwise 
endeavoured  to  wile  away  the  hours  of  a  life  which,  as  Lord 
Selborne  the  hymn  -  writer  said,  was  "a  living  death," 
"  like  one  of  the  ancient  lamps  which  burn  through  the  years 
underground."  Dean  Ramsay  of  the  "  Scottish  Reminis- 
cences "  was  a  very  frequent  visitor,  and  cheered  the  invalid. 

In  Christchurch  Cathedral,  in  Oxford,  there  is  a  mag- 
nificent transept  window  in  brilliant  colours  and  of  large  and 
daring  design,  to  this  Marquess's  beautiful  memory,  the  sub- 
ject being  "  St.  Michael  driving  the  dragon  and  Fallen  Angels 
from  heaven."  It  was  presented  by  his  brother  to  the  cathe- 
dral in  his  memory, — a  Christchurch  foundationer, — in  1876, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  striking  and  beautiful  ornaments  of 
the  cathedral,  which  forms  the  chapel  of  the  great  and  historic 
College  of  Cardinal  Wolsey. 

Schomberg  Henry  Ker,  ninth  Marquess  of  Lothian,  was 
born  in  1833,  being  the  second  son  of  John  William,  the 
seventh  Marquess,  and  Lady  Cecil  Chetwynd,  and  died  in 
January,  1900. 

The  late  Marquess  thus  succeeded  to  the  title,  having 
already  (in  1865)  married  Lady  Victoria  Alexandrina  Montagu 
Douglas  Scott,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Walter  Francis,  the  fifth 
Duke  of  Buccleuch.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  there 
were  few  Scotsmen, — not  to  say  Scottish  noblemen, — who  were 
better  known,  and  whose  character  for  culture,  courtesy,  and 
high  sense  of  honour,  was  more  widely  recognised  and  more 
thoroughly  appreciated.  His  career  was  an  active  one,  and 
all  along  he  proved  himself  a  most  patrotic  Scot,  interested 

(118) 


THE  HOUSE  OF  LOTHIAN. 

in  everything  that  concerned  the  well  -  being  of  his  native 
country. 

He  was  educated  at  New  College,  Oxford,  and  thereafter 
entered  the  Foreign  Office.  In  1857  he  enlisted  as  a  Volunteer 
under  Sir  James  Outram  in  the  Persian  war,  and  obtained  a 
medal  for  distinguished  service.  Part  of  the  household  in 
which  young  Lord  Schomberg  Ker  lived  when  in  Persia  still 
survives,  and  remembers  him  as  a  bright  and  joyful  youth  of 
23, — "  how  fond  we  all  were  of  him,  how  bright  and  loveable 
he  was,  with  his  fair  hair  and  boyish  appearance, — he  was 
sometimes  called  '  baby.'  His  presence  in  the  house  was  very 
pleasant, — a  great  addition  in  every  way,  so  different  from 
some  of  the  attachees."  The  Persian  war  over,  he  resumed 
the  diplomatic  life,  and  was  on  the  British  Embassy  at  Frank- 
fort, Madrid,  and  Vienna.  On  becoming  Marquess  of  Lothian 
he  still  continued  his  public  patriotic  life,  as  well  as  looking 
after  his  Midlothian  and  Border  estates. 

In  1874  he  was  made  Lord  Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal  of 
Scotland;  in  1876  he  was  cordially  elected  President  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  Scottish  Antiquaries, — a  society  in  which 
he  had  always  been  keenly  interested,  antiquities  being  Lord 
Lothian's  personal  hobby  and  forte.  His  antiquarian  re- 
searches at  Newbattle  Abbey  have  been  of  the  most  valuable 
and  interesting  description.  In  1878  Lord  Lothian  received 
the  knighthood  of  the  Thistle. 

Some  of  his  Lordship's  other  honours  may  be  briefly  sum- 
marised :  —  1878-89  Lieutenant  -  Colonel,  1889  Honorary 
Colonel  of  the  3rd  Battalion  Royal  Scots  (Lothian  Regiment) ; 
Captain- General  of  the  Royal  Company  of  Archers;  Governor 
of  the  National  Bank  of  Scotland,  on  the  notes  of  which  an 
admirable  portrait  is  engraved;  in  1882  LL.D.  of  Edinburgh 
University;  in  1883,  and  again  in  1886,  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Commission  on  Historical  Manuscripts;  in  1885  a 
Deputy-Lieutenant  of  Roxburghshire,  in  which  county,  close 
to  Jedburgh,  the  abbey  of  which  was  his  property,  lies  Mon- 
teviot,  which  was  Lord  Lothian's  favourite  residence;  in  1886 
a  Privy  Councillor;  from  1887-92  Her  Majesty's  Secretary 
for  Scotland,  during  which  period  he  accomplished  great 
reforms  in  the  West  Highlands  in  connection  with  light- 
houses, roads,  piers,  and  crofts,  his  labours  in  this  con- 
nection having  earned  for  him  an  honourable  name  all  through 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

the  Highlands;  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  of  Scotland;  Vice- 
President  of  the  Scotch  Education  Department;  from  1887-90 
Lord  Rector  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh;  in  1894  Pre- 
sident of  the  Royal  Scottish  Geographical  Society. 

The  Forestry  Exhibition  in  Edinburgh  twenty  years  ago 
practically  owed  its  existence  to  the  Marquess,  and  appropri- 
ately so,  when  we  recall  that  some  of  the  finest  beeches  and 
oaks  in  Gieat  Britain  rise  around  the  precincts  of  the  Ker's 
beautiful  and  interesting  residence. 

Of  the  Marquess's  own  family  of  nine  children,  seven 
survive,  a  son  of  a  year  old  having  died  in  infancy  in  1870, 
while  the  other  blank  was  occasioned  a  few  years  ago  by  the 
distressing  death  of  the  Earl  of  Ancram  while  A.D.C.  to  His 
Excellency  the  Earl  of  Jersey  in  New  South  Wales.  Of  the 
surviving  children,  the  heir, — Lord  Jedburgh, — Robert  Schom- 
berg  (born  1874)  is  the  only  remaining  son,  and  in  personal 
appearance  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  his  distinguished 
father. 

Some  years  later  Lord  Lothian  took  a  long  voyage  on 
board  H.M.S.  "Majestic"  with  his  brother,  Lord  Walter 
Talbot,  Vice-Admiral  of  the  Fleet.  Another  brother,  Lord 
Ralph-Drury,  C.B.,  Major-General  in  the  Army,  resides  close 
to  Newbattle  House,  at  Woodburn,  a  picturesque  mansion 
associated  with  the  name  of  "  Christopher  North,"  whose 
brother  resided  there  for  many  years.  Besides  Lady  Cecil- 
Elizabeth,  who  died  in  1866,  a  second  sister  survives,  and  is 
the  wife  of  T.  Gaisford,  Esq.,  of  Offington,  Sussex. 

Of  the  six  daughters,  Lady  Cecil  Victoria  Constance  is 
married  to  her  cousin,  the  Hon.  John  Walter  Montagu,  eldest 
son  of  Baron  Montagu  of  Beaulieu. 

The  late  Marquess  of  Lothian  had  the  following  titles  : — 
Baron  Newbottle, — the  ancient  name  of  the  place, — conferred 
in  1587 ;  Earl  of  Lothian,  1606 ;  Baron  Jedburgh,  1622  ;  Earl 
of  Ancram,  1633;  Baron  Ker  of  Nisbet,  Longnewton,  and 
Dolphingston,  1633;  Marquess  of  Lothian,  1701;  Earl  of 
Ancrum,  Viscount  of  Brien,  Baron  Ker  of  Newbottle,  Oxnam, 
and  Jedburgh,  1701;  in  the  Peerage  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
1821,  Baron  Ker  of  Kersheugh. 

Living  in  close  proximity  to  the  capital  of  Scotland,  Lord 
Lothian  took  a  deep  interest  in  all  national  affairs,  and  was 
frequently  seen  at  public  gatherings  in  the  city.  When  the 

(120) 


THE  HOUSE  OF  LOTHIAN. 

agitation  was  begun,  some  sixteen  years  ago,  with  the  object 
of  securing  greater  attention  to  Scottish  affairs  at  Westminster, 
Lord  Lothian,  in  common  with  the  great  bulk  of  representative 
public  men  in  Scotland,  threw  himself  into  the  movement,  and 
he  was  selected  to  preside  at  the  great  national  gathering  held 
in  the  Free  Assembly  Hall,  Edinburgh,  in  January,  1884, 
which  resulted  in  the  creation  of  the  office  of  Secretary  for 
Scotland.  On  that  occasion  his  Lordship,  referring  to  the 
representative  character  of  the  assemblage,  said  they  looked 
upon  the  question  at  issue  as  a  national  question,  as  a  matter 
dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  Scottish  people,  and  that  they  were 
willing  to  forego  the  credit  which  might  otherwise  have  been 
due  to  their  party  in  order  that  they  might  all  stand, — all 
parties  and  all  sections  of  the  Scottish  people, — upon  one 
firm  and  solid  ground.  In  concluding  his  address  from  the 
chair,  his  Lordship  voiced  the  feeling  of  the  large  and  repre- 
sentative assemblage  by  declaring  that  "  the  great  object  they 
had  in  view  was  to  urge,  almost  demand,  from  the  Government 
that  a  Secretary  of  State  for  Scotland  should  be  appointed 
for  the  management  of  Scottish  affairs.  They  recognised  the 
great  blessings  which  had  accrued  to  Scotland  and  England 
from  the  Union,  and  they  loyally  abided  by  the  terms  of  the 
Union,  but  they  wanted  to  assure  for  themselves  in  the  future, 
— what  their  forefathers  in  signing  the  Treaty  of  Union  had 
assured  to  them, — that  Scottish  business  should  be  managed 
independent  to  a  certain  extent  of  English  business.  While 
they  wanted  more  union,  they  objected  to  anything  in  the  shape 
of  absorption." 

Lord  Lothian's  memory  will  long  linger  in  Scotland  as 
a  precious  possession.  It  was  he  who  practically  instituted  the 
much-needed  office  of  Secretary  for  Scotland,  and  speaking  of 
the  work  he  said,  on  one  occasion  : — 

"Some  of  the  work  I  have  had  is  of  great  national  importance; 
but  there  are  other  things  which  are  not  of  such  national  importance 
— but  I  think  that  is  one  of  the  very  advantages  of  the  Scottish  Office. 
Before  the  Scottish  Office  was  in  existence,  all  these  small  things, 
all  those  matters  affecting  smaller  communities,  were  ignored  and  left 
alone,  and  now  I  hope  that  the  experience  of  the  Scottish  people  is 
— and  I  am  bound  to  say  that  I  think  they  have  discovered  it — that 
they  can  get  their  wants  attended  to,  or,  at  any  rate,  their  wishes 
heard  and  made  known  at  Dover  House ;  and  anything  I  can  do  that 
may  add  to  the  feeling  and  make  the  people  understand  that  they 
can  look  to  Dover  House  as  their  centre,  I  will  certainly  to  the 
utmost  of  my  power  create  and  foster.  .To  my  mind  there  is  no 
interest,  however  small,  there  is  nothing  which  can  affect  beneficially 

(121) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

or  adversely,  even  the  very  smallest  community,  which  ought  not 
to  receive  attention  at  the  hands  of  a  public  Minister.  And  I  think 
the  question  of  attention  to  the  smaller  interests  of  the  community 
is  one  which  is  receiving  day  by  day  more  attention  from  the  public." 

In  the  summer  of  1889,  Lord  Lothian,  as  Secretary  for 
Scotland,  opened  the  new  Scottish  National  Portrait  Gallery 
in  Queen  Street,  Edinburgh,  gifted  to  the  nation  by  the  late 
Mr  J.  R.  Findlay,  in  the  presence  of  a  distinguished  company. 
His  Lordship  spoke  of  the  value  of  such  institutions  as  the 
highest  incentive  to  true  patriotism  that  could  possibly  be  had. 
Only  a  few  years  ago  Lord  Lothian  was,  along  with  his  suc- 
cessor in  the  office  of  Scottish  Secretary,  Lord  Balfour  of 
Burleigh,  presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  city  of  Dundee. 
On  that  occasion  Lord  Provost  M'Grady  spoke  in  eulogistic 
terms  of  Lord  Lothian's  public  services,  his  high  personal 
character,  and  his  great  amiability  of  disposition,  which  had 
given  him  a  high  position  in  the  regard  of  his  fellow-country- 
men, altogether  irrespective  of  politics.  In  his  reply,  Lord 
Lothian  urged  that  commercial  centres  should  show  their  inter- 
est in  the  welfare  of  the  Empire  by  contributing  to  schemes 
which  proved  that  the  development  of  English  victories  and 
the  spread  of  English  civilization  over  the  world  were  not 
used  for  our  own  advantage,  but  for  the  civilization  and  the 
prosperity  of  the  countries  over  which  we  have  gained  control. 

Lord  Lothian  was  one  of  the  most  popular  men  of  the 
day.  He  was  always  most  genial  and  kindly,  with  a  remark- 
able charm  of  manner.  Lord  Lothian  was  a  fine  scholar,  and 
he  had  a  strong  taste  for  literature,  and  was  learned  as  an 
antiquary.  He  was  a  man  of  exceptional  business  capacity, 
and,  as  Secretary  for  Scotland,  he  was  a  conspicuous  success, 
several  most  important  questions  having  been  settled  by  his 
zeal  and  tact  in  a  manner  which  gave  universal  satisfaction 
in  the  north.  He  was  a  distinguished  authority  on  questions 
relating  to  the  procedure  of  the  House  of  Lords.  His  admini- 
strative capacity,  which  was  of  a  very  high  order,  was  also 
displayed  in  the  management  of  his  large  estates.  He  was 
a  very  liberal  landlord,  and  most  enterprising  in  carrying  out 
improvements,  while  he  also  spent  large  sums  on  restoring 
Jedburgh  Abbey  and  Ferniehirst  Castle. 

There  are  very  few  Scotsmen  indeed  who  will  not  feel 
a  sense  of  loss  at  the  decease  of  Lord  Lothian,  the  first  Secret- 
ary for  Scotland,  well  known  in  the  Throne  gallery  of  the 
General  Assembly  and  at  Holyrood,  a  munificent  friend  to  the 

(122) 


THE  HOUSE  OF  LOTHIAN. 

Church  of  Scotland.  He  was  a  Scottish  patriot  in  every  sense 
of  the  word,  and  when  prominent  peers  closely  related  to  him 
went  against,  the  creation  of  a  Secretaryship  for  Scotland,  and 
still  more  against  the  inclusion  of  that  Secretary  in  the  Cabinet, 
the  Marquess  of  Lothian  consistently  defended  both  positions ; 
and  during  his  term  of  office  took  the  keenest  interest  in  the 
crofters  and  Highland  fisheries  and  industries. 

Many  a  lighthouse  and  beacon  in  the  West  Highlands  of 
Scotland  owe  their  existence  to  the  courteous,  generous  noble- 
man whose  historic  crest  is  the  "  Rising  Sun,"  and  whose 
family  motto  is  "  Sero  sed  serio  "  ("  late  but  in  earnest  "). 
His  interest  in  his  native  land  showed  itself  also  in  his  devotion 
to  the  Franco-Scottish  Society,  which  he  to  a  great  extent 
founded,  the  French  members  of  which,  only  a  few  years  ago, 
were  entertained  by  him  at  Newbattle  Abbey,  and  shown  the 
costly  artistic  treasures,  including  the  famous  "  Three  Heads 
of  Charles,"  by  Vandyke,  which  was  presented  by  the  King 
on  the  eve  of  his  execution  to  his  bosom  friend,  the  Earl  of 
Strafford.  The  French  visitors, — many  of  them  of  the  highest 
rank, — were  touched  with  the  magnificent  white  marble  statuary 
groups  with  which  the  French  Government  presented  the 
Marquess's  mother  as  a  thank-offering  for  her  goodness  to  the 
French  refugees  in  1870-71. 

A  touching  memorial  grows  quite  close  to  Newbattle 
House,  in  the  shape  of  five  young  trees,  which  the  writer  saw 
planted  in  1885  by  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  the  Marquess  of 
Lothian,  General  Lord  Mark  Ker,  and  the  Earl  of  Ancram 
(Lord  Lothian's  heir)  respectively,  all  of  whom,  strange  to  say, 
are  now  deceased, — the  first  being  the  chief  of  a  group  of 
prominent  young  men,  all  of  whom  died  somewhat  tragic  deaths 
within  a  few  months  of  each  other,  including  the  Earl  of 
Dalkeith,  the  Earl  of  Ancram,  and  the  Prince  Imperial.  And 
now  Lord  Lothian,  who  loved  his  trees, — the  great  beech-tree 
of  Newbattle,  beneath  which  the  Cistercian  fathers  of  the  great 
royal  Eskside  Abbey  used  to  rest,  and  the  gnarled  remnants  of 
the  great  Caledonian  forest  which  still  survive, — has  passed 
away,  and  leaves  Scotland  unspeakably  the  poorer. 

Curiously,  one  of  his  last  acts  was  to  construct  a  small 
private  chapel  in  the  crypt  of  Newbattle  House, — a  monument 
to  his  taste  and  devotion, — which  got  its  first  public  consecra- 
tion at  his  own  funeral. 

("3) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

In  everything  connected  with  the  Church  of  Scotland 
Lord  Lothian  took  the  keenest  and  most  sympathetic  interest. 
His  family  have  given  the  Church  several  elders,  and  at  least 
two  Lord  High  Commissioners.  The  third  Earl  of  Lothian  was  a 
staunch  Covenanter,  and  a  vigorous  defender  of  the  Scottish 
Church.  The  fourth  Earl  was  Lord  High  Commissioner,  while 
his  son  married  the  daughter  of  that  Earl  of  Argyle  who  was 
beheaded  for  his  adherence  to  the  Covenant,  and  whose  last 
words  at  Edinburgh  Cross  were, — "  I  had  the  honour  to  set 
the  Crown  upon  the  King's  head,  and  now  he  hastens  me  to 
a  better  Crown  than  his  own."  Lady  Margaret  Ker,  whose 
first  husband  was  the  seventh  Lord  Yester,  daughter  of  the 
first  Earl  of  Lothian,  was  the  founder  of  Lady  Yester's  Church 
in  Edinburgh.  All  through,  the  association  between  the 
Church  of  Scotland  and  the  House  of  Lothian  has  been  a  most 
intimate  one,  several  of  them  being  elders  of  Newbattle 
Church.  Though  not  a  member  of  the  Church  of  the  country, 
the  late  Marquess  was  a  generous  friend  and  supporter  and 
sincere  well-wisher. 

In  the  restoration  in  1895  of  Newbattle  Church  (itself 
built  of  the  ancient  Abbey  stones,  and  consecrated  by  the 
memory  of  Leighton,  who  was  the  bosom  friend  in  1652  of 
William,  Earl  of  Lothian),  the  Marquess  took  the  keenest 
interest,  taking,  with  the  Very  Rev.  Dr  Scott,  the 
leading  part  in  the  dedicatory  services.  There  are 
few  who  will  forget  his  feeling  address  when  with  a  silver 
key  he  opened  the  Ancram  aisle  in  memory  of  his  son. 

Jedburgh  Parish  Church  and  manse, — the  finest  in  the 
South  of  Scotland, — were  built  entirely  by  his  munificence ; 
while  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  many  other  ways,  public  and 
private,  has  cause  to-day  to  remember  Lord  Lothian  with 
gratitude  and  love. 

His  own  personal  life  was  one  of  simple,  unselfish,  self- 
sacrificing  devotion  to  duty  and  to  his  family.  There  was  no 
condescension  or  patronage  or  pride  about  Lord  Lothian,  but 
a  fresh,  frank,  fearless  truthfulness  and  honour.  Both  at 
Newbattle  and  in  Jedburgh  his  visits  to  and  interest  in  the 
poor  and  the  suffering  were  well  known.  He  never  forgot  an 
old  friend,  however  humble  or  obscure,  but  with  that  genial, 
cultured  brightness  and  perfection  of  refined  feeling  which 
made  him  all  along  so  attractive,  he  drew  all  hearts  to  him. 

(124) 


THE  HOUSE  OF  LOTHIAN. 

When  Lord  Lothian,  as  a  young  man,  served  in  Persia,  he 
stayed  with  a  private  family,  and  was  godfather  to  their  son, 
who  died  only  a  few  years  ago, — an  event  which  gave  the 
Marquess  much  grief.  It  said  much  for  both  sides  that,  after 
a  lapse  of  so  many  years,  both  should  entertain  so  affectionate 
a  remembrance  for  each  other.  To  a  private  friend  who,  at 
the  time  of  Lord  Ancram's  death,  sympathised  and  condoled, 
the  Marquess  said: — "It  is  one  of  those  things  which  one 
never  gets  over,  though  outwardly  matters  appear  to  go  on  as 
before." 

"  He  dropped  the  shuttle,  the  loom  stood  still, 

The  weaver  slept  in  the  twilight  grey ; 
Dear  heart,  he  will  weave  his  beautiful  web 
In  the  golden  light  of  a  longer  day." 

On  the  simple  grave  which  he  lately  prepared  for  himself, 
facing  the  windows  of  his  ancestral  mansion,  in  that  historic 
valley  where  Scottish  royalties  lie  sleeping,  besides  many  a 
brave  and  good  soldier  of  the  Crown,  father  of  the  Church, 
servant  of  the  State,  and  within  hearing  of  the  old  church 
bells,  which  have  never  ceased  their  music  in  the  beautiful 
wooded  valley  of  the  South  Esk  for  nine  hundred  or  a  thou- 
sand years,  this  great  Scottish  nobleman  awaits  the  reddening 
of  the  East  and  the  advent  of  that  Lord  whose  earthly  worship 
he  so  loved,  and  whose  sanctuaries  were  so  dear  to  him. 

Lord  Lothian's  death  was  a  great  sorrow  to  Scotland.  One 
intimately  associated  with  him  said  : — "  It  is  a  very  great 
sorrow  to  lose  so  bright  and  gifted  a  head  of  the  family,  one 
whom  till  this  fatal  illness  arose,  had  hardly  a  touch  of  age  upon 
him.  He  and  his  elder  brother  were  always  deeply  attached, 
and  he  ever  endeavoured  to  carry  out  things  that  he  thought 
were  his  wishes,  such  as  the  magnificent  work  at  Jedburgh 
Abbey."  To  this  may  be  added  the  beautiful  Gothic  gateway 
on  the  Dalkeith  side  of  the  grounds,  a  direct  copy  of  a  gateway 
in  Rome.  On  his  death,  one  of  his  own  brothers  wrote  the 
writer  in  these  terms  : — "  We  hardly  know  yet  what  is  the  void 
left  by  the  loss  of  one  who  through  a  long  life  has  been  such 
a  brother.  My  great  comfort  is  to  look  back  on  his  life,  and 
to  realise  his  upright  character  and  his  unvarying  habit  of 
confessing  his  belief  in  God  in  all  his  public  and  private  acts, 
— which  is  no  small  thing  in  these  days  of  indifference  and 
scepticism  which  are  so  lamentably  prevalent."  Lord  Lothian 
died  within  a  few  days  of  John  Ruskin,  and  of  both  of  them 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

it  might  be  said  that  while  the  outward  man  gradually  perished 
and  decayed,  the  inward  man  was  renewed  day  by  day  by 
the  Spirit  of  God. 

The  station  of  the  Lothian  family  may  be  summarized 
in  the  language  of  the  various  Peerage  authorities  : — 

Two  families  of  Kerr,  of  Anglo-Norman  lineage,  descended,  it 
is  said,  from  two  brothers,  settled  in  Scotland  in  the  i3th  century, 
and  neither  yielding  superiority  to  the  other,  formed  two  separate 
races  of  warlike  borderers.  Of  the  family  of  KERR  of  Cessford,  the 
Duke  of  Roxburghe  is  the  chief ;  and  of  the  KERRS  of  Ferniherst,  the 
noble  house  of  which  we  are  now  about  to  treat  is  the  representative. 

MARK  KERR,  and  son  of  Sir  Andrew  Kerr,  of  Cessford,  entering 
into  holy  orders,  was  promoted,  in  1546,  to  the  dignity  of  Abbot  of 
Newbottle,  in  which  station  the  Reformation  found  him  in  1560,  when 
he  adopted  the  new  doctrines,  and  held  his  benefice  in  commendam. 
He  had  the  vicarage  of  Lintoun,  co.  Peebles,  for  life,  in  1564;  and 
was  appointed  one  of  the  extraordinary  lords  of  Session  in  1569.  He 
m.  Helen,  2nd  dau.  of  George,  4th  Earl  of  Rothes,  and  had  issue, 

I.  MARK,  his  successor.  n.  Andrew,  of  Fentoun. 

ill.  George,  who  is  mentioned  by  Robertson  as  an  emissary  from 
the  Catholic  noblemen  to  the  court  of  Spain  in  1592. 

iv.  William. 

I.  Catherine,  m.  to  William,  Lord  Herries. 
He  d.  in  1584,  and  was  s.  by  his  eldest  son, 

MARK  KERR,  an  extraordinary  lord  of  Session,  and  master  of 
requests,  who  had  the  abbacy  of  Newbottle  erected  into  a  temporal 
barony,  with  the  title  of  Baron,  28  July,  1587  ;  and  obtained  a  charter 
of  the  Baronies  of  Prestongrange  and  Newbottle,  united  into  the 
lordship  of  Newbottle,  with  the  title  of  a  lord  of  parliament,  15  Oct. 
1591.  He  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  for  holding  the 
parliament  in  1597,  and  created  Earl  of  Lothian,  10  Feb.  1606.  His 
lordship  m.  Margaret,  dau.  of  John,  Lord  Herries,  and  had,  with 
daus., 

i.  ROBERT,  his  successor. 

II.  William  (Sir),  of  Blackhope,  who,  on  the  death  of  his  brother, 

assumed  the  title  of  Earl  of  Lothian,  but  was  interdicted 
from  using  it  by  the  lords  of  council,  8  March,  1632. 
in.  Mark  (Sir).  iv.  James. 

The  earl  was  s.  at  his  decease,  in  1609,  by  his  eldest  son, 

ROBERT,  2nd  Earl  of  Lothian.  This  nobleman  m.  Lady  Annabella 
Campbell,  dau.  of  Archibald,  "jth  Earl  of  Argyll,  by  whom  he  had 
two  daus.,  Anne  and  Johanna;  but  having  no  son,  his  lordship  ob- 
tained permission  from  the  crown  to  transfer  his  titles  and  estates  to 
his  elder  dau.  at  his  decease ;  which  event  taking  place  in  1624,  that 
lady  became 

ANNE,  Countess  of  Lothian,  and  married, 

SIR  WILLIAM  KERR,  Knt.,  who,  in  consequence,  was  elevated  to  the 
peerage,  24  June,  1631,  by  the  title  of  Earl  of  Lothian.  His  lordship 
was  only  son  (by  his  ist  wife,  Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Sir  John  Murray, 
of  Blackbarony)  of 

ROBERT  KERR  (descended  from  Thomas  Kerr,  of  Kerrsheugh,  who 
built  a  house  in  the  middle  of  Jedburgh  Forest,  and  naming  it 
Fernihirst,  was  designated  by  that  title  in  the  records  of  par- 
liament, 1476),  who  was  created  EARL  OF  ANCRUM,  Lord  Kerr,  of 
Nisbit,  Longnewton,  and  Dol-phington,  24  June,  1633,  with 
(126) 


THE  HOUSE  OF  LOTHIAN. 

remainder  to  the  male  descendants  of  his  2nd  marriage ;  and  in 
default  of  those,  to  his  issue  male  whatsoever.  His  lordship  m. 
2ndly,  Anne,  only  surviving  dau.  of  William  (Stanley),  Earl 
of  Derby,  and  widow  of  Sir  Henry  Portman,  of  Orchard  Port- 
man,  co.  Somerset,  by  whom  he  had  a  son,  Charles,  and  several 
daus.  Lord  Arcrum  was  the  confidential  friend  of  King 
CHARLES  I.,  who,  when  Prince  of  Wales,  was  the  means  of  bring- 
ing about  his  marriage  with  the  Lady  Anne  Stanley.  In  1620, 
he  had  the  misfortune  to  kill,  in  a  duel,  Charles  Maxwell,  whose 
brother  was  a  member  of  the  king's  family,  and  was  obliged,  in 
consequence,  to  fly  to  Holland,  but  was  received  into  royal 
favour  in  the  next  year.  He  d.  in  1654,  and  was  s.  according  to 
the  limitation,  by  the  son  of  his  second  marriage, 
CHARLES,  2nd  Earl  of  Ancrum ;  at  whose  decease,  without  issue, 
the  title  devolved  upon  his  elder  and  only  brother,  the  Earl  of 
Lothian. 

His  lordship,  by  his  marriage  with  Anne,  Countess  of  Lothian,  had 
five  sons  and  nine  daus. ;  and  dying  in  1675,  was  s.  by  his  eldest  son, 

ROBERT,  4th  Earl  of  Lothian  an3  3rd  Earl  of  Ancrum.  This 
nobleman  was  one  of  the  privy  council  to  King  WILLIAM,  justice- 
general  of  Scotland,  and  high  commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly. 
His  lordship  was  created  MARQUESS  OF  LOTHIAN,  Viscount  of  Briene, 
Lord  Ker  of  Newbottle,  &c.,  23  June,  1701.  He  m.  Jane,  dau.  of 
Archibald,  Marquess  of  Argyll,  by  whom  he  had  (with  five  daus.), 

WILLIAM,  his  successor. 

Charles,  who  was  appointed  director  of  the  Chancery  in  1703.  He 
m.  Janet,  eldest  dau.  of  Sir  David  Murray,  of  Stanhope,  and 
dying  in  1735,  left  issue, 

John,  an  officer  of  rank  in  the  army. 

Mark,  general  in  the  army ;  d.  unm. 

James,  d.  unm. 
His  lordship  d.  in  1703,  and  was  s.  by  his  eldest  son. 

WILLIAM,  2nd  marquess ;  who  had  previously  succeeded,  in  1692,  at 
the  demise  of  his  kinsman,  Robert  Kerr,  3rd  Baron  Jedburgh  (a  peer- 
age conferred  upon  Sir  Andrew  Kerr,  2  Feb.  1622),  to  that  barony, 
by  virtue  of  special  limitation  in  the  patent  of  creation.  His  lordship, 
who  was  knight  of  the  Thistle,  one  of  the  representative  peers,  and 
a  major-general  in  the  army,  m.  Jane,  dau.  of  the  unfortunate  Earl  of 
Argyll,  who  was  beheaded  in  1685 ;  and  dying  in  1722,  was  s.  by  his 
only  son, 

WILLIAM,  3rd  marquess,  K.T.,  one  of  the  representative  peers, 
high-commissioner  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  lord-register  in  the 
court  of  Session.  His  lordship  m.  ist,  Margaret,  dau.  of  Sir  Thomas 
Nicholson,  Bart,  of  Kempney,  co.  Aberdeen,  by  whom  he  had, 

WILLIAM,  his  successor. 

Robert,  a  gallant  officer,  who  fell  at  Culloden. 

Jane,  d.  young. 

He  m.  2ndly,  Jean  Janet,  eldest  dau.  of  Lord  Charles  Kerr,  of  Cra- 
mond,  by  whom  he  had  no  issue.  He  d.  in  1767,  and  was  s.  by  his 
elder  son, 

WILLIAM- HENRY,  4th  marquess.  This  nobleman  m.  in  1735,  Lady 
Caroline  D'Arcy,  only  dau.  of  Robert,  Earl  of  Holdernesse,  and  great 
granddau.  of  the  celebrated  Duke  of  Schomberg,  who  fell  at  the  battle 
of  the  Boyne,  in  1690 ;  by  whom  he  had  issue  a  son,  William-John, 
and  two  daus.;  Louisa,  m.  in  1759  to  Lord  George  Lennox;  and 
Wilhelmina-Frances,  m.  in  1783,  to  Major-General  John  Macleod. 
His  lordship  was  a  distinguished  military  officer,  and  attained, 
through  the  various  gradations,  from  that  of  cornet,  which  he  held  in 
1735,  the  rank  of  a  general  officer  in  1770.  He  fought,  and  received 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

a  wound,  at  the  battle  of  Fontenoy,  in  1745  ;  commanded  the  cavalry 
on  the  left  wing  of  the  royal  army  at  Culloden;  and  subsequently 
accompanied  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  to  the  Continent.  He  was  one 
of  the  representative  peers,  and  a  Knight  of  the  Thistle.  His  lordship 
d.  in  1775,  and  was  s.  by  his  only  son, 

WILLIAM- JOHN,  5th  marquess.  This  nobleman,  who  was  also  a 
general-officer  in  the  army,  colonel  of  the  nth  regiment  of  dragoons, 
and  knight  of  the  Thistle,  m.  in  1763,  Elizabeth,  only  dau.  of  Chiches- 
ter  Fortescue,  Esq.  of  Dromisken,  co.  Louth,  and  granddau.  of  Richard 
(Wellesley),  ist  Lord  Mornington,  by  whom  he  had  issue, 
I.  WILLIAM,  6th  marquess. 

n.  Charles-Beauchamp,  b.  ig  July,  1775;  m.  Elizabeth,  dau.  of 
William  Crump,  Esq.  of  Farnham,  Surrey,  by  whom  (who  d. 
in  1830),  he  left  issue  at  his  decease,  20  March,  1816, 

1  Charles-William-John,  in  holy  orders;  b.  in  1801. 

2  Mark-Henry-James,  in  holy  orders;  b.  9  Nov.  1802. 

3  Beauchamp,  b.  in  1806;  late  captain  55th  foot;  m.  15  Aug. 

1832,  Caroline-Elizabeth,  youngest  dau.  of  the  late  James 
Irwin,  Esq.,  E.I.C.S.,  and  has  issue. 

4  William-Henry,  b.  in  1811;  m.  17  Nov.  1841,  Maria,  young- 

est dau.  of  the  late  Richard  Power,  Esq.  of  Cork. 
i  Caroline,    m.    4   April,    1826,    to   Thomas    Pearce,    Esq.    of 

Highway  House,  Froyle,  Hants.  2  Charlotte. 

3  Frances,  m.  in  1834,  to  R.-G.  Hubbock,  Esq. 
4.  Elizabeth,  m.  in  1835,  to  Capt.  Edgar  Bayly. 
ill.  Mark  Robert,  vice-admiral,  R.N. ;  b.  12  Nov.  1776;  m.  18  July, 
1799,  Charlotte,  late  Countess  of  Antrim,  by  whom  (who  d.  in 
1835),  he  left  at  his  decease,  9  Sept.  1840,  surviving  issue, 

1  Hugh-Seymour,  Earl  of  Antrim,  an  officer  in  the  army. 

2  Mark,   b.   in   1814;  comm.   R.N.;   m.   in   1849,   Jane-Emma- 

Hannah,  dau.  of  Major  Macan,  of  Carriff,  and  has  Wm.- 
Randal,  b.  in  1851 ;  and  Mark-Henry-Horace,  b.  in  1852. 

3  Arthur-Schomberg,   b.  in  1820;  m.   16  March,  1846,  Agnes- 

Steuart,  youngest  dau.  of  J.-H.  Frankland,  Esq.  of  Eash- 
ing  House,  Surrey,  and  has  issue. 

1  Letitia-Louisa. 

2  Georgiana,  m.  in  1825,  to  the  Hon.  and  Rev.  F.  Bertie. 

3  Caroline,   ;«.   in   1826,   to  the  Rev.    Horace-Robert   Pechell, 

chancellor  of  Brecon. 

4  Charlotte-Elizabeth,  m.  in  1835,  to  Sir  G.-R.  Osborn,  Bart. 

5  Fanny-Frederica-Augusta,  m.  n  March,  1841,  to  Montagu, 

Earl  of  Abingdon. 

6  Emily-Frances,  m.  in  1839,  to  Henry  Richardson,  Esq.  of 

Somerset,  co.   Derry. 

IV.  Robert,  a  lieut.-col.  in  the  army;  b.  in  1780;  m.  in  1806,  Mary, 
dau.  of  Rev.  Edmund  Gilbert,  of  Windsor  House,  Cornwall, 
and  d.  23  June,  1843,  having  had  issue,  five  sons  and  five 
daus., 

1  WILLIAM- WALTER-RALEIGH,  b.  in  1809 ;  auditor-general  at  the 

Mauritius. 

2  Charles-Hope,  b.  in  1818;  in  the  army;  d.  in  1841. 

3  Henry-Ashburton,  b.  in  1821 ;  comm.  R.N. 

4  Robert-Dundas,   lieut.   royal  engineers;   b.   in   1824;   m.   in 

1852,  Harriett-Marianne,  dau.  of  John  Arnold,  Esq. 

1  Elizabeth-Anne,    m.    in    1830,    to   Lieut. -Gen.    Sir   William 

Maynard  Gomm,  K.C.B. 

2  Louisa-Grace,  m.  4  May,   1841,  to  Colonel  William-Henry 

Cornwall,  Coldstream-guards. 

3  Mary-Frances,  m.  3  Jan.   1846,  to  E.  Hammond,  Esq. 

4  Emily-Caroline  Fortescue,  m.  17  July,  1841,  to  Morton  Carr, 

Esq.,  barrister-at-law.  5  Lucy-Maria. 

(128) 


THE  HOUSE  OF  LOTHIAN. 

i.  Elizabeth,  m.  to  John,  late  Lord  Dormer;  and  d.  in  1822. 
ii.  Mary,  m.  Gen.  the  Hon.  Fred.  St.  John;  and  d.  in  1791. 
in.  Louisa,  m.  to  Arthur  Atherley,  Esq. ;  and  d.  in  1819. 
His  lordship  d.  in  1815,  and  was  s.  by  his  eldest  son, 

WILLIAM,  6th  marquess,  K.T.,  lord-lieutenant  of  Midlothian  and 
Roxburghshire,  and  colonel  of  the  Edinburgh  militia;  who  was  en- 
rolled amongst  the  peers  of  the  United  Kingdom,  17  July,  1821,  as 
Baron  Kerr,  of  Kerrsheugh,  co.  Roxburgh.  His  lordship  m.  ist,  in 
1793,  Henrietta,  dau.  of  John,  2nd  Earl  of  Buckinghamshire,  and  by 
her  (who  d.  in  1805),  had  issue, 

i.  JOHN-WILLIAM-ROBERT,   7th  marquess. 

II.  Henry-Frances-Charles,  in  holy  orders,  rector  of  Dittisham, 
Devon;  b,  17  Aug.  1800;  m.  10  Sept.  1832,  Louisa-Dorothea, 
only  dau.  of  the  Hon.  Gen.  Sir  Alexander  Hope,  G.C.B.,  and 
has  surviving  issue, 

1  William-Hobart,  b.  25  July,  1836. 

2  Henry-Schomberg,  R.N. ;  b.  15  Aug.   1838. 

3  Francis-Ernest,  b.  10  Aug.  1840. 

1  Henrietta-Mary-Emma. 

2  Mary-D'Arcy.  3  Alice-Dorothea. 
i.  Isabella-Emily-Caroline. 

The  marquess  m.  2ndly,  i  Dec.  1806,  Harriet,  dau.  of  Henry  3rd  Duke 
of  Buccleuch,  and  by  her  (who  d.  18  April,  1833)  had  issue, 

i.  Charles-Lennox,   b.  in  1814;  an  officer  in  the  42nd  regt.,  and 

aide-de-camp  to  the   lord-lieutenant  of   Ireland ;   m.   in   Oct. 

1839,  Charlotte-Emma',  sister  of  Sir  John  Hanmer,  Bart.,  and 

has  issue, 

1  Charles-Wyndham-Rodolph,  b.  Nov.  1849. 

2  John-Hanmer,  b.  7  May,  1851.  3  Another  son,  b.  1852. 
i   Harriet-Georgiana-Edith.  2  Florence-Elizabeth. 

3  Amy- Frances. 

II.  Mark-Ralph-George,   b.   15  Dec.   1816;  major  in  the  army. 

in.  Frederick- Herbert,  b.  30  Sept.  1818;  capt.  R.N. ;  m.  13  Jan. 
1846,  Emily-Sophia,  dau.  of  General  Sir  Peregrine  Maitland, 
governor  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope ;  and  has,  Emily- 
Georgina,  Sidney-Catherine,  and  Edith-Harriet. 

I.  Elizabeth-Georgina,  m.  25  Oct.  1831,  to  Lord  Clinton. 

II.  Harriet-Louisa,  m.   13  June,   1834,  to  Sir  John-Stuart  Forbes, 

Bart. 

ill.  Frances,  m.  n  June,  1848,  to  George  Wade,  Esq. 
iv.  Anne-Catherine,  b.  19  May,  1812;  and  d.  6  Dec.  1829. 
v.  Georgiana-Augusta  (to  whom  King  GEORGE  IV.  stood  sponsor), 

m.    25   July,    1849,   to   the   Rev.    Granville-Hamilton    Forbes, 

rector  of  Broughton,  Northamptonshire. 
The  marquess  d.  27  April,  1824,  and  was  s.  by  his  eldest  son, 

JOHN- WILLIAM  ROBERT,  7th  marquess ;  lord-lieutenant  of  the  co.  of 
Roxburgh,  and  col.  of  the  Edinburgh  militia;  b.  i  Feb.  1794;  m.  19 
July,  1831,  Lady  Cecil  Chetwynd  Talbot,  only  dau.  of  Earl  Talbot, 
and  had  issue, 

I.    WILLIAM-SCHOMBERG-ROBERT. 

ii.  Schomberg-Henry,  b.  2  Dec.  1833. 

in.  Ralph-Drury,  b.  n  Aug.  1837. 

iv.  Walter-Talbot,  b.  28  Sept.  1839. 

V.  John-Montagu-Hobart,  b.  24  April,  1841. 

i.  Cecil-Elizabeth.  n.  Alice-Mary. 

WiLLUM-SCHOMBERG  ROBERT,  8th  marquess,  b.  Aug.  12,  1832;  m. 
12  Aug.  1857,  Lady  Constance-Harriet-Mahonesa-Talbot,  dau.  of  i8th 
Earl  of  Shrewsbury.  He  d  4  July,  1870,  and  s.  by  brother  next.  She 
d.  10  Oct.  1901. 

I  (129) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

SCHOMBERG-HENKY,  gth  marquess,  Knight  of  Grace  of  the  Order 
St.  John  of  Jerusalem  in  England ;  b.  2  Dec.  1833 ;  m.  22  Feb.  1865, 
Victoria-Alexandrina,  eldest  dau.  of  Walter  Francis,  5th  Duke  of 
Buccleuch. 

i.  Walter -William-Schombergj  Earl  of  Ancram ;  b.  29  Mar.  1867 ; 
d.  15  June,  1892.. 

n.  Schomberg- Henry-Mark,  b.  4  Aug.  1869;  d.  Sept.  1870. 

ill.  Robert-Schomberg,   loth  marquess. 

Daughters — Cecil,  Margaret,  Mary,  Helen,  Victoria,  Isobel. 

Creations — Baron  Newbottle,  15  Oct.  1591.  Earl  of  Lothian,  10 
Feb.  1606.  Baron  of  Jedburgh,  2  Feb.  1622.  Earl  of  Ancrum,  24 
June,  1633.  Marquess,  &c.,  23  June,  1701 — in  Scotland.  Baron,  17 
July,  1821 — in  the  United  Kingdom. 

Arms — Quarterly  :  ist  and  4th,  az.,  the  sun  in  splendour,  ppr.,  a 
coat  of  augmentation,  for  the  title  of  LOTHIAN;  2nd  and  3rd,  gu.,  on  a 
chevron,  arg.,  three  mullets  of  the  field,  for  the  lordship  of  JEDBURGH. 

Crest — The  sun,  as  in  the  arms. 

Supporters — Dexter,  an  angel,  ppr.,  vested,  az.,  surcoat,  vert, 
winged  and  crined,  or ;  sinister,  an  unicorn,  arg.,  armed,  maned,  and 
unguled,  or,  gorged  with  a  collar,  gu.,  charged  with  three  mullets, 
arg. 

Motto — Sero  sed  serio. 

Seats — Newbottle,  Mid-Lothian;  and  Mount  Teviot  Lodge,  Rox- 
burghshire. 


(13°) 


XI. 

PICTURES  AND  TREASURES  OF 
NEWBATTLE  HOUSE. 

NEWBATTLE  House  to-day  is  a  rich  treasure-house 
of  Vandyke  paintings,  including  the  famous  "  Three 
Heads  of  Charles  I."— the  King's  gift  to  the  Earl 
of  Strafford  before  his  execution.  The  Earl  of 
Strafford's  peer's  robe,  in  which  he  went  to  the 
block,  is  still  preserved  in  the  Newbattle  treasure-chests,  and 
the  collar  bears  the  blood  marks  yet.  It  is  the  royal  robe  of 
the  garter  worn  by  Wentworth,  Earl  of  Strafford,  on  the 
scaffold  in  1641 — and  the  purple  and  the  star  are  well  pre- 
served. Among  other  "  Vandykes  "  are  Charles  I.'s  triumphal 
entrance  into  London,  and  several  others.  Rembrandt, 
Albert  Diirer,  and  other  great  masters  are  represented.  A 
picture  of  the  building  of  Noah's  Ark  by  Pietro  de  Cosimo 
is  painted  on  a  tablecloth,  the  artist  being  too  poor  to  procure 
canvas.  The  house  is  rilled  with  all  kinds  of  historic  and 
antiquarian  treasures, — the  old  Abbey  font  (in  which  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots  was  baptised),  a  Spanish  Armada  iron  chest, 
a  Venetian  bride's  gold-covered  chest  with  lovely  paintings, 
a  pre-historic  urn  for  the  ashes  of  the  dead,  declared  by  Dr 
Phene  to  be  unique  in  age  and  interest,  dating  back  to  the 
time  of  Moses  in  Egypt,  missals,  breviaries,  pontificals,  prayer- 
books  (unlimited),  an  original  copy  of  the  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant  signed  by  the  Earl  of  Lothian,  the  original  gold  and 
painted  marbles  of  Assyrian  kings  from  Nineveh,  gifts  and 
pictures,  books  and  memorials  of  all  kinds  in  such  profusion 
that  days  would  be  required  to  see  only  a  tithe  of  the  treasures. 
The  Abbey  Chartulary  lies  in  the  Edinburgh  Advocates'  Li- 
bary.  Among  many  valuable  MSS.  in  the  house  may  le 
mentioned  the  Charter  appointing  the  Earl  of  Arran  Regent 
of  Scotland,  with  the  seals  of  peers,  bishops,  and  abbots, 
including  the  Abbot  of  Newbattle. 

(131) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

A  small  bronze  cannon  given  by  Mary  Queen  of  Scots 
to  Sir  Thomas  Ker  of  Ferniehirst,  engraved  with  the  arms 
of  France  and  Scotland,  surrounded  with  thistles,  and  with 
the  monogram  "  M,"  was  exhibited  at  the  Glasgow  Exhibition. 
In  the  dining  room  there  is  hanging  a  magnificent  silver  shield, 
rarely  embossed,  the  gift  of  the  King  of  Bohemia  to  an  Earl 
of  Ancrum  generations  ago,  as  a  recognition  of  his  services 
at  the  Bohemian  Court  during  the  King's  illness,  when  sent 
on  a  visit  of  condolence  by  James  VI.  in  1629.  The  fine 
portrait  of  the  three  great  English  admirals,  Drake,  Hawkins, 
and  Cavendish,  hangs  over  the  fireplace,  while  at  the  windows 
are  lovely  wreaths  of  flowers  carved  in  wood.  The  Vandyke 
painting  of  "  The  Three  Heads  of  Charles  I."  was  painted 
in  order  that  a  bust  of  the  king  might  be  made  from  them  in 
Rome.  The  bust  was  made,  and  is  now  in  the  Vatican,  while 
the  picture  was  returned  to  Charles  I.,  who,  before  his  execu- 
tion, presented  it  to  his  dear  friend  and  companion,  the  Earl 
of  Strafford.  The  picture  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
Lothian  family  through  marriage  with  the  house  of  Castlereagh. 
Lady  Castlereagh,  the  late  Lord  Lothian's  aunt,  left  this  pic- 
ture and  all  her  property,  including  Blickling  Hall,  Norfolk- 
shire,  to  him.  The  very  fine  octagonal  baptismal  font  has 
on  its  sides  the  carved  shields  of,  ist,  Ramsay  of  Dalhousie; 
2nd,  Margaret,  Queen  of  James  IV.  (daughter  of  Henry  VIII. 
of  England);  3rd,  Magdalene,  Queen  of  James  V.  (daughter 
of  Francis  I.  of  France);  4th,  Royal  Arms  of  Scotland;  5th, 
Mary  of  Guise,  second  Queen  of  James  V. ;  6th,  Edward 
Schewall,  Abbot  1526  -  1530.  This  decipherment  is  kindly 
given  by  Sir  Balfour  Paul,  Lyon  King  at  Arms.  The  font 
was  found  at  Mavisbank  in  1873,  when  Mavisbank  House  was 
being  enlarged.  In  excavating  the  foundations,  the  workmen 
came  on  the  font  buried  in  the  garden.  When  Captain  Arbuth- 
not  of  Mavisbank  knew  it  was  the  old  Newbattle  font  he 
returned  it  to  Lord  Lothian. 

We  enter  a  small  apartment  adjoining  the  dining-room, 
in  which  are  hung  some  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  earlier 
pictures  of  the  collection.  Among  these  a  very  distinguished 
place  is  occupied  by  a  "  Madonna  and  Child,"  by  Albert 
Diirer,  which,  in  a  moment  of  the  rarest  good  fortune,  was 
discovered  by  the  present  Lord  Lothian  in  a  furniture  shop 
in  Edinburgh,  and  purchased  by  his  brother,  the  late  Marquess. 


PICTURES  AND  TREASURES  OF  NEWBATTLE  HOUSE. 

It  is  stated  to  have  been  formerly  in  rooms  in  Holyrood  Palace 
which  were  occupied  by  the  Earls  of  Buchan.  This  is  one  of 
the  very  few  genuine  works  of  the  master  that  have  found  their 
way  to  Great  Britain ;  according  to  Thausing,  indeed, — the 
standard  authority  on  the  subject, — only  one  other  of  his 
undoubted  productions  exists  in  this  country, — a  portrait  of  the 
painter's  father,  preserved  at  Sion  House.  This  critic  fully 
admits  the  authenticity  of  the  present  picture;  but  he  refers 
to  it, — we  quote  from  Eaton's  English  translation  of  his 
Life  of  Diirer, — as  "  containing  an  almost  life-sized  Virgin," 
and  as  having  been  shown  "  at  the  Royal  Academy  Old 
Masters'  Winter  Exhibition  in  1871,"  both  of  which  statements 
are  inaccurate.  The  figures  are  greatly  under  the  scale  of 
life,  and  it  was  in  1870  that  the  picture  was  exhibited  in 
London.  The  date  that  it  bears,  1506,  proves  that  it  was 
painted  in  Venice,  during  the  happy  days  of  Diirer's  visit 
to  that  city,  when  he  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  John  Bellini, 
— "  a  very  old  man,  indeed,  but  the  best  of  them  all,"  as  he 
writes  of  him  to  his  friend,  Pirkheimer,  and  when  he  looked 
forward  with  something  like  horror  to  his  return  to  the  chilly 
North, — "  Alas  !  how  shall  I  live  in  Nuremberg  after  the  bright 
sunny  Venice?  Here  I  am  the  lord,  at  home  only  the  hanger- 
on."  To  the  same  correspondent  the  painter  writes  that  Bellini 
had  "  praised  me  before  many  gentlemen,  and  asked  me  to 
do  him  something,  and  he  will  pay  me  well  for  it;"  and  it 
is  possible  enough  that  this  may  be  the  very  picture  which  he 
executed  for  his  aged  artist  friend.  The  subject  is  just  such  as 
that  "pious  man"  would  naturally  have  chosen;  and  the 
supposition  gains  in  force  from  the  manifest  influence  of 
Bellini's  style,  which  is  visible  in  the  handling,  and  in  the 
quiet,  accurately-balanced  composition  of  the  work,  and  even 
in  such  little  circumstances  as  the  appearance  of  the  painter's 
monogram  and  inscription  upon  a  white  label  counterfeiting 
a  folded  piece  of  paper,  as  in  many  of  Bellini's  own  works 
—in,  for  instance,  his  "  Doge  Loredano,"  his  "  Madonna 
and  Child,"  and  his  "  St  Peter  Martyr,"  in  the  London 
National  Gallery. 

In  Lord  Lothian's  picture,  the  seated  figure  of  the  Ma- 
donna is  seen  against  a  crimson  curtain,  on  either  side  of  which 
we  catch  a  glimpse  of  landscape, — wooded,  on  the  right,  and 
with  steep  cottage  roofs  appearing  above  the  trees,  and,  on 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

the  left,  occupied  by  one  of  those  half -ruined  manors  or  farms, 
which  are  of  frequent  occurence  in  Durer's  engravings.  Her 
golden  -  haired  face  has  no  special  charm  of  beauty,  —  the 
painter,  great  master  as  he  was,  seldom  attained  any  very  high 
ideal  of  female  loveliness, — but  the  countenance  is  informed 
by  a  quiet  pathos,  and  possessed  by  a  homely  charm.  Two 
quaint  winged  cherubs,  whose  bodies  end  abruptly  in  flakes 
of  cloud,  one  of  them  turning  towards  us  the  rotundity  of  his 
great  bald  head,  are  crowning  the  Virgin,  but  with  no  royal 
diadem  of  flashing  gems  and  beaten  gold ;  they  set  upon  her 
head  'only  a  simple  wreath  of  the  poet's  "  votive  fruits  and 
symbol  flowers."  On  her  lap  is  seated  the  Divine  Child, 
holding  a  bird-lure  in  his  right  hand,  and  sporting  with  the 
yellow  songster  that  perches  fearlessly  upon  his  left  wrist.  To 
the  right,  St.  John,  bearing  his  slender  cross  of  reeds,  is 
bringing  a  younger  child  to  present  his  humble  offering  of 
lilies  of  the  valley.  The  picture  is  full  of  poetic  charm,  of 
brilliant  transparent  colouring,  and,  in  the  expression  of  its 
details,  of  searching  and  elaborate  draughtsmanship.  The 
handling  of  the  plumage  of  the  various  wings  that  appear  in 
the  picture  is  here,  as  always  with  Diirer,  especially  masterly ; 
and  altogether  the  work  is  one  of  which  any  collection  might 
be  justly  proud. 

Over  'the  fireplace  is  hung  an  interesting  little  example 
of  early  Italian  art,  a  picture  by  the  Cavaliere  Dello  Delli, 
a  Florentine  sculptor  and  painter,  whose  works  are  to  be 
found  in  the  cloister  of  Santa  Maria  Novello,  in  his  native 
city,  and  whose  portrait  is  introduced  in  the  figure  of  Shem 
in  the  fresco  of  the  drunkenness  of  Noah,  in  the  same  place, 
painted  by  his  friend  Paolo  Uccello.  The  present  example 
of  Delli's  work  is  a  narrow  oblong  panel,  which  has  evidently 
formed  a  side  of  one  of  those  chests,  or  caskets,  in  which  the 
Florentine  brides  carried  their  wedding  gear  to  their  new  homes. 
It  forms  a  pleasant  relic  of  "  the  season  of  art's  spring-birth, 
so  dim  and  dewy,"  when  the  distinction  between  the  fine  and 
the  decorative  arts  was  less  sharply  marked  than  now,  and 
the  painter  of  the  throned  Madonna  over  the  high  altar  did 
not  disdain  to  touch  the  homely  things  of  domestic  life,  and 
make  them  lovely.  The  subject  of  this  panel  is  the  appropri- 
ate one  of  "  The  Triumph  of  Love  and  the  Triumph  of 
Chastity."  To  the  left,  round  the  car  on  which  the  potent 

('34) 


PICTURES  AND  TREASURES  OF  NEW  BATTLE  HOUSE. 

god  Amor  is  borne  by  fiery  steeds,  young  and  strong,  and 
armed  with  his  mighty  bow  and  deadly  shafts,  is  gathered 
a  company  of  gay,  richly-clad  men  and  women,  the  merry 
people  of  the  world;  and  to  the  right,  a  band  of  wise  virgins, 
stoled  in  white,  attend  the  chariot  where  Chastity,  a  stately 
maiden,  holding  a  palm  branch  for  reward,  stands  enthroned, 
with  cupids  bound  and  captive  at  her  feet.  Her  car  is 
drawn  by  gravely- stepping  unicorns,  the  mediaeval  symbols 
of  purity  (it  was  fabled  that  the  unicorn  could  purge  a 
poisoned  spring  if  it  but  dipped  its  horn  in  the  water),  which 
appear  as  such  in  II  Moretta's  portrait  of  Alphonso  I.  and 
Laura  Eustachio,  in  the  Belvedere,  and  beside  the  exquisite 
half-draped  girl  on  the  obverse  of  the  lovely  medal  of  Cecilia 
Gonzaga,  by  Pisano — to  whose  St  George,  in  his  picture  in 
the  National  Gallery,  one  of  the  figures  in  Delli's  present  work, 
that  towards  the  left  wearing  the  broad  Tuscan  hat,  bears  a 
curiously  close  resemblance.  The  picture  is  full  of  pleasant 
and  dainty  fancy,  and  is  distinguished  by  its  spirited  and 
varied  action,  and  by  its  beautiful  colour,  profusely  height- 
ened with  gold. 

Among  the  other  examples  of  the  Italian  schools  in  the 
room  is  a  "  Virgin  and  Child/'  by  Botticelli,  of  that  circular 
form  which  was  frequent  with  the  master,  with  particularly 
rich  and  full  colouring  in  the  yellow  and  red  drapery  which 
forms  its  background,  and  with  much  yearning  pathos  in  the 
attitude  and  expression  of  the  clinging  Babe  and  the  mother 
who  bends  over  him.  Here,  too,  is  a  semi-circular,  "  Enthrone- 
ment of  the  Virgin,"  by  Filippo  Lippi.  Recent  research  tends  to 
discredit  the  stories  of  this  painter's  wild  and  wayward  life, 
— related  by  Vasari,  and  adopted  by  Mr  Browning  in  one  of 
his  most  brilliant  poems, — and  of  his  retributive  death  by 
poison;  certainly  the  present  work  is  full  of  tenderness  and 
of  pure  devotional  feeling  in  the  angelic  forms  on  either  side 
that  lift  the  curtain,  and  in  the  sweet  figure  of  the  Virgin,  who 
bows  meekly  to  receive  the  diadem  from  her  Son.  The  colour- 
ing of  the  work  is  delicate,  cool,  and  silvern,  and  has  little 
of  the  glow  and  warmth  that  we  associate  with  our  memories 
of  the  artist's  best-known  works. 

In  this  country  there  are  said  to  be  but  three  important 
works  by  Pietro  de  Cosimo  in  private  hands,  and  one  of  these 
is  known  to  relatively  few  connoisseurs,  and  goes  unnoticed  in 

('35) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

the  1898  edition  of  Mr  Berenson's  "  Florentine  Painters." 
One  of  the  very  few  public  allusions  that  have  been  made  to  it 
was  that  of  Mr  Roger  E.  Fry,  The  picture  belongs  to  the 
Marquess  of  Lothian,  and  is  in  the  gallery  of  Newbattle 
Abbey,  Dalkeith.  Like  "  Hylas  and  the  Nymphs,"  in  Mr 
Robert  Benson's  collection,  it  vis  painted  on  a  tablecloth,  for 
in  those  early  days  Pietro,  being  poor,  took  the  first  texture 
that  came  to  hand.  It  represents,  reputedly  in  the  na'ive 
fashion,  an  imagined  battle  of  the  Stone  Age,  and  was  pro- 
bably executed  about  the  time  Pietro  painted  the  lovely  land- 
scape in  the  fresco  of  his  master,  Cosimo  Rosselli,  in  the 
Sixtine  Chapel.  If  it  reveal  anything  like  the  inventiveness 
of  "  Hylas  and  the  Nymphs,"  to  say  nothing  of  the  wonderful 
"  Combat  of  the  Centaurs  in  the  Lapithse,"  it  deserves  to  be 
far  more  widely  known  than  it  is  at  present.  If  I  learn 
aright,  no  photograph  of  the  Marquess  of  Lothian's  picture  has 
been  published. 

There  are  multitudes  of  valuable  pictures  scattered  all 
over  the  house,  Vandykes,  Rembrandts,  Titians,  Murillos,  &c., 
besides  any  quantity  of  valuable  portraits. 

In  the  great  and  magnificent  drawing-room,  built  over 
the  cloister  quadrangle,  and  beautifully  ornamented  in  the  roof 
by  Italian  artists,  there  are  many  fine  portraits  of  various 
members  of  the  House  of  Lothian,  including  the  late  Marquess 
in  his  robes.  Warwick  Castle  is  the  only  rival  of  Newbattle 
Abbey  in  the  matter  of  Vandyke  portraits. 

There  are  more  literary  and  artistic  treasures  in  Newbattle 
House  than  probably  in  any  other  house  in  Scotland,  not  even 
excepting  Drummond  Castle  and  Dalkeith  and  Hamilton 
Palaces.  In  the  Abbey  are  preserved  the  famous  Catalogue 
of  Honour  and  "  Album  Amicorum  "  of  Sir  Michael  Balfour, 
besides  countless  works  of  mediaeval  interest. 

Among  the  many  interesting  family  memorials,   there  is 

a  thin  folio  in  the  handwriting  of  William,  Earl  of  Lothian, 

containing  a  journal  of  his  travels  in  1624-5  through  France 

to   Italy   and   Switzerland,   entitled, — "  Itinerario   fatto   anno 

1625  ch'era  quella  dal   Qubeleo   Urbano  Octavo   Papa   Bar- 

berini."     His    father   had    sent    him   to    Paris   to    finish    his 

education,  and  before  returning  home  allowed  him  to  travel  a 

little.     He  left  Paris  with  his  tutor  on  6th  November,  1624. 

There  is  also  preserved  an  interesting  "  Correspondence 

(136) 


PICTURES  AND  TREASURES  OF  NEWBATTLE  HOUSE. 

of  Sir  Robert  Ker,  ist  Earl  of  Ancram,  and  his  son,  William, 
3rd  Earl  of  Lothian  "  (May  26,  1616, — Sept.  13,  1650),  con- 
taining many  varied  letters,  including  those  of  the  Bishop  of 
Caithness  to  Sir  Robert  Ker,  letters  by  Leighton,  the  Marquess 
of  Argyll,  and  many  others. 

A  very  touching  family  record  is  still  preserved  in  the 
Lothian  charter  -  chests,  which  are  brim  -  full  of  interesting 
memorials, — in  which  the  then  Earl  of  Lothian  gives  a  eulogy 
of  Anne,  Countess  of  Lothian,  who  died  on  26th  March,  1667. 
After  giving  a  list  of  his  children,  the  Earl  adds, — "  Anne, 
Countess  of  Lothian,  the  goodly  and  worthy  mother  of  these 
children,  sickened  and  took  bed  the  2oth  of  March,  Wednes- 
day, 1667,  and  died  upon  the  26th  of  the  same  month — Tues- 
day. Ane  woman  extraordinary  in  all  the  qualifications  of 
goodness,  vertue,  modesty,  piety ;  a  good  wyfe,  a  good  mother, 
a  good  woman ;  excellent  in  the  government  of  her  family 
and  the  ordering  and  provyding  for  it,  and  augmenting  the 
estate  of  her  house  in  the  revenues  of  the  lands,  with  the 
addition  of  wenning  of  coals  by  long  labour  and  much  charge 
and  expenses ;  and  a  great  inlarger  of  the  House  of  Newbattle, 
by  faire  newe  buildings  from  the  ground,  and  with  much  orna- 
ment and  addition  peffyting  a  begune  worke,  and  beautifying 
the  entries  and  accesses  by  many  walls  and  inclosures  and  plan- 
tations of  trees  of  all  kyndes ;  a  woman  honoured  and  beloved 
singularly  of  her  husband,  her  children,  friends,  kindred, 
neighbours,  vassals,  tenants ;  affable  and  charitable  to  the  poor ; 
regraitted  in  her  death  by  all,  and  of  memory  sweate  and 
fragrant.  This  is  attested  by  her  most  sadde  and  widowed 
husband,  Lothian.  The  6  Aprile,  1667."  It  was  in  all  pro- 
bability this  Countess  Anne  who  made  the  modest  old  New- 
battle  Abbey  a  stately  mansion,  and  planted  many  of  the  mag- 
nificent trees  and  plantations  which  are  still  the  glory  of  the 
place. 

The  library  of  Newbattle  House  is  extraordinarily  rich 
in  Spanish  and  Italian  literature,  the  invalid  Marquess,  who 
died  in  1870,  having  beguiled  his  weary  hours  by  study  of 
Continental  literature.  In  addition,  the  collection  of  MSS.  of 
Cromwell,  Monk,  and  many  others  is  priceless.  The  library 
of  missals,  breviaries,  martyrologies,  and  other  sacred  manuals, 
is  quite  unique. 

(i37) 


XII. 

THE  GOD'5  ACRES  OF  NEWBATTLE. 

THE  parish  of  Newbattle  has  no  fewer  than  five  separate 
places  of  burial.  The  ancient  chapel  of  Bryans, 
which  has  been  incorporated  along  with  the  ecclesi- 
astical buildings  into  the  present  farm  bearing  that 
name,  stood  on  the  hillside  above  the  Esk  valley. 
A  stone  holy-water  basin  was  quite  recently  recovered  from 
amid  the  farm  buildings  which  cover  the  site  of  the  ancient 
place  of  worship.  The  churchyard  can  still  be  traced  by  the 
large  and  aged  trees  surrounding  the  site.  The  byre  of  Bryans 
farm  is  paved  mainly  with  the  old  tombstones,  which  have 
their  inscribed  faces  turned  downwards.  Bryans  chapel  was 
the  church  of  the  small  parish  of  Maisterton,  of  which  the 
massive  baronial  tower  still  stands, — an  important  landmark 
by  sea  and  land.  Some  are  of  opinion  that  Bryans  was  even 
an  older  ecclesiastical  foundation  than  Newbattle  Abbey.  The 
Marquess  of  Lothian  has  as  one  of  his  titles, — Viscount  of 
Brienne  or  Brien.  The  old  chapel  stair  with  its  foot-worn 
steps  is  still  standing.  The  "Lady's  Tree"  in  the  farm  policies 
is  a  survivor  of  a  number  of  great  trees  which  shaded  the 
churchyard.  Two  ladies  who  were  in  possession  of  the  Mais- 
terton estate  at  the  Reformation  gave  the  present  churchyard 
as  a  present  to  the  parish.  The  old  Bryans  chapel  and  church- 
yard are  the  scene  of  an  annual  open-air  service  to  keep  alive 
the  sacred  memories  of  the  place. 

In  the  flower  garden  of  Newbattle  Abbey,  and  around 
the  walls  and  vicinity  of  the  house,  skeletons  of  monks  with 
fragments  of  their  white  habits  have  frequently  been  found, 
laid  to  rest  under  the  shadow  of  St.  Mary's  pile,  as  the 
ecclesiastical  dignitaries  found  their  final  repose  beside  the 
altar.  Inside  the  Abbey  were  the  grave  and  monument  of 
Mary  de  Couci,  Queen  of  Alexander  II.  The  Abbey  was, 
in  its  palmy  days,  not  only  the  favourite  resort  of  Scottish 
royalty,  but  also  a  specially  desired  resting-place  for  royal 
and  noble  dust. 

(138) 


THE  GOD'S  ACRES  OF  NEW  BATTLE. 

Father  Hay  (Dipl.  Col.  III.  34.  i.  10),  quoting  an  older 
authority,  says  : — "  In  the  midst  of  the  church  was  seen  the 
tomb  of  the  queen  of  Alexander,  of  marble,  supported  on  six 
lions  of  marble.  A  human  figure  was  placed  reclining  on  the 
tomb,  surrounded  with  an  iron  grating." 

Only  about  a  hundred  yards  from  the  original  site  of  the 
Abbey,  now  marked  out  in  the  gravel,  the  Abbey  church  was 
rebuilt;  and  it  was  in  this  second  church  that  Leighton 
preached.  The  church  was,  in  1727,  removed  once  more  to 
its  present  position  and  rebuilt,  about  a  hundred  yards  towards 
the  south,  so  that  in  a  triangular  space,  with  each  side  about 
a  hundred  yards  in  length,  the  church  has  stood  successively 
at  each  point  of  the  triangle.  The  only  remaining  portion  of 
Leigh  ton's  church  is  a  small  vault,  probably  constructed  of 
the  stones  left  over  after  the  second  rebuilding  of  the  Abbey 
stones  into  the  present  edifice. 

The  Marquess  of  Argyle  (eighth  earl  and  first  marquess), 
who  was  beheaded  with  the  maiden  at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh, 
on  May  27th,  1661,  is  closely  associated  with  the  Lothian 
family,  which,  like  the  house  of  Argyle,  was  warmly  attached 
to  the  Reformed  and  Covenanting  cause.  His  second  daughter, 
Lady  Jean,  became  the  wife  of  the  first  Marquess  of  Lothian. 
After  Argyle 's  execution  his  head  was  exposed  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Tolbooth.  His  body  was  carried  first  to  St. 
Magdalene's  Chapel  in  the  Cowgate,  and  thence  to  Newbattle, 
where  it  rested  for  a  few  weeks  in  the  old  church.  The  head 
remained  on  the  Tolbooth  spike  for  a  fortnight,  when  Charles 
II.  having  given  a  warrant  for  its  removal,  the  body  was 
brought  from  Newbattle,  and  they  were  together  laid  in  the 
family  sepulchre  of  St.  Mund  at  Kilmun. 

This  vault  or  "  isle  "  (as  a  marble  slab  on  the  outside 
of  the  door  describes  it)  became  the  place  of  sepulture  for  the 
Lothian  family  all  through  the  eighteenth  and  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  Possibly  the  vault  may  have  existed  beneath 
the  church  as  a  family  burying-place  for  the  house  of  Lothian. 
On  the  front  of  the  vault  there  have  within  the  last  few  years 
been  erected  two  white  marble  slabs  built  into  an  ornamental 
wall-door  with  the  names  of  the  various  members  of  the  house 
interred  within.  Around  this  vault  the  trees  are  particularly 
fine. 

The   following   inscriptions   are   on   the   tablets   of   what 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

used  to  be  called   the   "  Lothian   Isle,"   the  only   remaining 
portion  of  Leighton's  church  : — 

"  The  front  of  this  isle  was  enlarged  by  Gen.  Lord  Mark 
Kerr  A.D.  1888.  Jean,  Marchioness  of  Lothian,  built  this 
isle  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1705.  (I.  Tablet.)  Mark  Kerr 
of  Newbattle  (the  last  abbot)  died  August  26,  1584.  Lady 
Helen  Leslie,  wife  of  Mark  Kerr,  d.  Oct.  26,  1594.  Mark 
Kerr,  i  Earl  of  Lothian,  d.  1609.  Lady  Anne  Kerr,  Countess 
of  Lothian,  d.  Mar.  26,  1667.  William,  3  Earl  of  Lothian, 
d.  Oct.  1675.  Robert,  i  Marquess  of  Lothian,  d.  16  Feb. 
1703.  Lady  Jean  Campbell,  wife  of  the  ist  Marquess,  d. 
31  July  1712.  Lady  Jean  Campbell,  wife  of  2nd  Marquess, 
d.  Dec.  27,  1787.  William  Henry,  3  Marquess,  d.  28  July 
1767.  William,  4  Marquis  of  Lothian,  d.  April  12,  1775. 
(II.  Tablet.)  Lady  Caroline  D'Arcy,  wife  of  4  Marquess, 
d.  Oct.  1778.  William,  6  Marquess,  d.  2  April  1824.  Lady 
Henrietta  Hobart,  wife  of  6  Marquess,  d.  1805.  Lady  Jean 
Kerr,  Lady  Cranston,  d.  of  2  Marquess  of  Lothian.  Mistress 
Jean  Cranston,  d.  of  Jean,  Lady  Cranston.  Lord  Robert 
Kerr,  son  of  3  Marquess  of  Lothian,  killed  at  Culloden,  April 
1 6,  1746.  Col.  Lord  Robert  Kerr,  son  of  5  Marquess  of 
Lothian,  d.  1843.  Lady  Robert  Kerr,  d.  1859.  Four  chil- 
dren of  Lord  and  Lady  Robert  Kerr." 

The  present  churchyard  of  the  parish  is  one  of  the  most 
picturesque  in  all  Scotland,  surrounded  as  it  is  with  magnificent 
trees,  and  laid  out  and  kept  with  the  most  devoted  care,  a 
wonderful  contrast  to  its  condition  in  older  days,  when  the 
grass  was  allowed  to  grow  knee-deep  and  the  sacrilegious  sheep 
dined  off  its  rank  growth.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  when  residing 
at  Lasswade,  used  frequently  to  visit  this  ideal  resting-place 
for  "Old  Mortality."  Newbattle  churchyard  was  a  hunting- 
ground  with  the  Edinburgh  resurrectionists.  Only  within 
recent  years  has  the  old  resurrection-house  been  swept  away. 
The  only  specimen  of  the  class  now  surviving  in  the  district 
is  that  in  Dalkeith  New  Burying  Ground, — a  very  complete 
specimen  of  the  kind,  with  its  round  red  sandstone  tower, 
battlemented  top,  and  narrow  port-holes  round  and  round. 
The  Newbattle  house  was  built  against  the  east  wall,  half-way 
down,  and  was  roofed. 

At  the  bottom  of  many  of  the  old  graves  the  heavy  irons 
are  still  come  upon,  which  were  used  to  bind  the  coffins  down 

(140) 


THE  GOD'S  ACRES  OF  NEWBATTLE. 

to  the  earth,  and  thus  assist  in  baulking  the  body-stealers. 
Traditions  are  still  numerous  of  fights  with  the  body-snatchers, 
and  it  is  certain  that  at  least  one  death  resulted  from  these 
contests. 

Among  the  many  relics  connected  with  the  ecclesiastical 
establishment  of  Newbattle, — Leighton's  library,  communion 
plate,  hour  glass,  &c., — there  is  the  "  funeral  hand-bell," 
with  "  (  1616  XMA  )  "  as  an  inscription,  signifying  "  James 
Aird,  minister."  The  bell,  which  is  of  coarse  construction, 
has  an  iron  handle  in  the  shape  of  a  leg-bone.  Before  a 
funeral  took  place  the  sexton  paraded  the  parish,  ringing  his 
tocsin,  and  announcing  all  particulars  of  hour,  place,  &c.  The 
old  funeral  road  from  Dalhousie  to  the  churchyard  (though 
now  closed  to  the  public)  can  still  be  easily  traced,  and  with 
its  magnificent  avenue  of  tall  trees  on  each  side,  forms  what 
is  known  as  the  "  Kirk-brae,"  one  of  the  most  charming  and 
admired  pieces  of  scenery  in  Mid-Lothian.  Some  of  the  old 
funeral  palls  are  still  in  existence,  of  rich,  heavy  black  velvet 
with  woollen  fringes,  often  referred  to  in  the  session-records 
as  "  mortcloths," — used  to  cover  the  coffin,  which  was  carried 
to  the  grave  in  any  sort  of  conveyance. 

Beginning  with  the  tombstones  at  the  east  corner  of  the 
churchyard,  beside  the  present  gravedigger's  tool-house,  there 
is  a  group  of  monuments  to  the  Watsons  of  Crosslea  which  is 
worthy  of  notice,  the  most  interesting  of  them  to  "  George 
Watson,  son  of  Robert  Watson,  tenant  of  Westhouses,  who 
died  2oth  January,  1708,  aged  twenty-two  years."  The  usual 
skull  and  cross-bones  adorn  the  memorial,  and  the  inscription 
"memento  mori  " ;  but  in  addition  there  is  a  reclining  figure 
of  a  youth  reading  a  book,  evidently  referring  to  the  studious 
habits  of  this  young  man  cut  off  in  his  prime.  Another,  of 
date  1724,  has  hour  glass,  cross  spades,  and  bones  and  skull ; 
while  the  stone,  dated  1623,  with  the  initials  "  T.W.  : 
M.P.R.W.  :  DM."  is  similarly  adorned.  The  pose  of  the 
child  and  the  peace  of  the  place  suggest  the  beautiful  verses  : — 

"  When  the  day  is  past  and  over, 
With  its  labour  and  its  play, — 
When  the  little  feet  grow  weary, 
And  the  toys  are  put  away  : 
Like  an  angel  in  the  gloaming, 
As  the  shadows  round  her  creep, — 
There  is  One  who  keepeth  yigil 
When  the  children  fall  asleep. 

(141) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

"  For  the  faintest  cry  she  listens, — 
On  her  lips  a  tender  prayer, 
For  a  mother's  love  is  nearest 
To  the  love  the  angels  bear  : 
Some  in  simple-hearted  gladness, — 
Some  with  bitter  tears  to  weep, — 
Watch  the  mothers  in  the  shadow 
When  the  children  fall  asleep  ! 

"  When  Life's  little  day  is  over, — 
When  on  us  the  shadows  fall, — 
Hear   our   prayer,    O    Heavenly    Father, 
Keeping  vigil  over  all  : 
Guard  us  through  the  vale  of  shadow, 
While  the  Night  is  dark  and  deep  : 
Grant  us  calm  and  peaceful  slumber 
When  Thy  children  fall  asleep  !" 

A  little  further  up  the  same  eastern  wall  there  are  several 
monuments  with  the  inevitable  pillars  and  cross-bones,  fol- 
lowed by  a  curious  rude  stone,  with  the  earliest  date  of  all 
in  the  churchyard,  which  bears  the  inscription  : — "  Here  lyes 
Jon  Duncan  weaver  in  Newbattle  who  parted  this  life  in 
1607  aged  82,"— with  the  letters  "  T.B  X  I.D  "  and  the 
weaver's  shuttle  and  stretchers.  Beside  it  is  a  stone  with 
a  face  very  rudely  carved, — little  else  than  a  face-curve  and 
holes  and  eyes,  and  the  inscription, — "  Here  lyis  Andrew 
Blair  1632." 

On  the  upper  part  of  the  east  wall  there  is  a  pillared 
monument  with  skull  above  and  the  letters  "  T.C  :  E  W  "  and 
the  inscription, — "  Here  lyeth  James  Chirnsyde  sone  to  James 
Chirnsyd  Bailie  In  Newbatell  who  departed  this  life  the  4th 
Nov.  1682  of  age  12  years." 

On  this  Chirnsyde  tomb  there  is  a  verse  of  reflection  : — 

In  this  frail  life  how  soon  cut  of  are  wee 

All  that  on  earth  do  live  must  surely  die. 

Mount  up  O  soul  to  that  seraphick  spheere 

Eternal  life  if  thou  wolds  have  a  share. 

Sure  God  doth  for  the  blisid  it  prepare, 

Caelestial  joy  that  can  compare  with  the 

Here  nothing  is  but  grif  and  vanitie. 

Invieous  death  that  could  not  hurt  the  soulle 

Ripened  for  glory  though  the  grave  did  moulle 

Natour  and  strength,   yea  youth  thou  soon  can  kill 

So  here  thou  did  accomplish  divine  will, 

Yet  where  are  nou  thy  furious  darts,  thy  sting, — 

Death  cannot  stop  the  soul  from  taking  wing 

Eternally  with  God  above  to  sing. 

Elaborate  scrolls  flank  this  youth's  monument,  and  cross- 
spades,  cross-bones,  and  an  hour  glass  occupy  a  panel  at  the 
foot. 


THE  GOD'S  ACRES  OF  NEWBATTLE. 

On  the  south  wall  is  a  rather  stately  pillared  monument 
of  seventeenth  century  date,  with  an  effective  diamond  orna- 
ment along  the  base,  and  the  inscription  : — 

Heir  godliness  with  virteu  in  ane  tombe 
Mare  and  Martha  are  interred  in  this  tombe. 

referring  either  to  two  sisters  or  one  excellent  woman  who 
combined  the  virtues  of  both  the  sisters  of  Bethany. 

A  pillared  square  monument  comes  next  to  it,  with  the 
inscription,  "  1629  TH  X  HL."  Beside  it,  wreathed  in 
summer  with  the  sweetest  of  "  Gloire-de-Dijon  "  roses,  is  the 
grave  of  John  William  Turner,  first  professor  of  Surgery  in 
Edinburgh  University,  who  died  in  1835,  and  of  his  relative, 
Dr  Aitchison,  whose  researches  in  Afghanistan  thirty  years 
ago  rendered  him  famous,  his  fine  botanical  and  zoological 
collections  having  their  home  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum. 

The  old  escutcheoned  stone  next  it  is  remarkably  interest- 
ing for  its  carving  and  symbolism, — a  child's  tomb  of  260 
years  ago.  Above  is  an  elaborate  coat  of  arms,  surmounted 
by  a  man  with  a  club,  while  the  sentences  and  symbols  of 
death  are  carefully  worked  out,  including  "  hodie  mihi,  eras 
tibi,"  "  memento  mori,"  and  skull,  hour  glass,  cross-bones, 
&c.  On  the  top  of  the  pillars  there  is  a  human  head,  an  axe 
on  one  side,  and  a  skull  on  the  other.  The  inscription  reads, 
— "  Here  lyeth  Frances  Murray,  one  of  the  House  of  Black 
Baronnie  who  deceast  the  i4th  February  1641  aet.  suae  8." 
She  was  the  child  of  Sir  Archibald  Murray  of  Blackbarony 
in  Peeblesshire, — a  progenitor  of  Lord  Elibank.  Andrew 
Murray  of  Blackbarony  appears  in  charters  in  1552,  and  his 
ancestors  had  been  seated  at  Blackbarony  for  five  generations 
previously.  His  son,  Sir  John  Murray,  was  brother  of  Sir 
Gideon  Murray,  Lord  High  Treasurer  of  Scotland  and  a  Lord 
of  Session  (father  of  Patrick,  first  Lord  Elibank),  and  of 
Sir  William  Murray  of  Clermont,  Fife.  Sir  John  Murray's 
son  and  heir,  Archibald  Murray  of  Blackbarony,  was  made  a 
baronet  of  Nova  Scotia  in  1628,  in  James  VI. 's  reign.  He 
married  a  daughter  of  Dundas  of  Arniston,  and  this  child  of 
eight  was  buried  in  Newbattle  churchyard,  owing  to  her 
maternal  connection  with  the  parish,  which  includes  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  Arniston  estate. 

A  curious  flat-faced  obelisk  built  into  the  wall  records 
a  life  spent  amid  a  sea  of  troubles  : — 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEV/BOTTLE. 

"  Annexe  uxor  Samuel  Elliot  obiit  Sept.  aoth 

1772  aet.  73. 
Afflictions  sore 
Long  time  I  bore 
Much  tears  I   spent  in  vain 
Till  God  did  please 
By  death  to  ease 
And  ridd  me  of  my  pain. 

Here  lyes  the  remains  of  Samuel  Elliot  Sergnt,  who 
died  Nov.  14,  1777,  aged  90  years;  also  Anne  second  wife 
of  Samuel  Elliot,  who  died  April  14,  1786,  aged  60  years." 

The  most  interesting  historical  monument  in  Newbattle 
Churchyard  is  unfortunately  also  the  most  scanty  and  dimin- 
ished. It  is  to  the  memory  of  of  the  Rev.  William  Creech, 
the  father  of  William  Creech,  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh,  the 
great  bookseller,  who  was  one  of  the  best  of  Robert  Burns' 
friends,  and  who  himself  published  the  Ayrshire  plough- 
man's second  edition  of  "  Songs  and  Poems."  The  only 
memorial  left  is  a  portion  of  a  stone  built  into  the  southern 
wall,  surmounted  by  a  flower-ornament,  and  an  open  book 
on  which  is  inscribed  the  text  from  Job  xix.,  25,  with  the 
inscription — "  M.S.D.  Gulielmi  Creech  ecclesiae  apud  New- 
battle  fidelissimi  ....  pietate,  prudentia,  ma 

hominem  or The  stone  is  almost  entirely  broken,  and 

the  small  remaining  fragment  has  been  in  recent  years  built 
into  the  churchyard  wall.  The  Rev.  William  Creech  entered 
the  incumbency  in  1739,  succeeding  the  Rev.  Andrew  Mitchell, 
and  died  aist  August,  1745,  the  year  of  the  battle  of  Preston- 
pans.  A  new  stone  has  just  been  erected  to  the  memory  of 
father  and  son,  and  a  memorial  brass  placed  in  the  church. 

One  of  the  finest,  probably  the  finest  of  all  the  monuments, 
is  associated  with  the  name  of  Welsh, — connected  both  with 
John  Knox  the  Reformer  and  also  with  Thomas  Carlyle.  It 
is  in  the  south-east  corner  of  the  churchyard,  and  is  an  elabo- 
rate table  with  ornamentation  of  bones  and  skulls  and  faces. 
The  monument,  from  an  architectural  point  of  view,  is  a  very 
interesting  one,  and  was  an  object  of  much  interest  to  the  late 
Marquess  of  Lothian.  From  the  "4"  mark,  the  monument 
is  probably  to  a  merchant,  but  the  inscription  is  illegible. 

Of  the  other  monuments,  little  need  be  said.  That  on 
the  south  wall,  next  Creech's  tomb,  of  date  1634,  with  its 
skull  and  cross-bones,  to  "Carles  Campbell  of  Neu- 
batell,"  a  former  minister  of  the  parish;  the  Aitchison 

(144) 


THE  GOD'S  ACRES  OF  NEWBATTLE. 

monument,  recently  restored,  of  date  1728,  with  the  usual 
insignia,  are  interesting:  the  Thomson  tomb  (1739),  with 
the  same  insignia  and  scroll  commemorating  "  John  Thom- 
son portioner  in  Newbattle  1739  "  :  that  to  Nicoll  Simpson, 
1662,  beside  it — all  these  have  their  family  interest,  but  little 
beyond  it. 

In  the  centre  of  the  churchyard  there  are  several  old 
stones  to  miners,  weavers,  &c.  A  spirit  of  economy  seems  to 
have  taken  hold  of  two  colliers  of  Langlaw  in  the  parish,  for 
one  family  takes  one  side  of  the  stone  and  the  other  the  reverse. 
"  Here  lyeth  Robert  Allan  son  to  John  Allan  Coalzier  at 
Longlau  died  Nov.  29th  1752.  Jesus  said,  '  suffer  little  chil- 
dren to  come  unto  Me,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  ' 
On  the  other  side — "  Here  lyeth  William  Douglas  Coalzier 
at  Longlau,  husband  to  Margaret  Patterson  and  two  children 
who  died  1741."  The  insignia  of  the  pick,  mash,  and  wedge 
are  over  both  inscriptions.  Another  monument  is  to  "  Jenot 
Bounkyll  spouse  of  Robert  Graham,  weaver  in  Easthouses  who 
lived  together  57  years  and  departed  23rd  June  1798  aged 
77."  The  Crooke's  monument  of  1663  is  also  interesting. 

The  stone  of  a  smith,  1741,  is  remarkable  for  the  high 
relief  of  carving.  The  crowned  hammer  is  flanked  by  two 
human  heads  with  curly  hair,  and  by  two  hour  glasses,  and 
skulls  surmount  the  pillars  at  the  sides. 

The  similitude  of  the  insignia  on  the  i?th  and  i8th 
century  stones  makes  it  unnecessary  to  pursue  the  subject  fur- 
ther,— some  having  the  crown  and  hammer,  others  the  emblems 
of  a  weaver's,  a  brewer's,  a  farmer's,  or  a  miner's  life,  while 
most  have  only  the  symbols  of  our  frail  mortality. 

Tradition  says  that  there  was  a  small  churchyard  at  one 
time  at  Westhouses  in  the  days  when  it  was  a  large  village 
with  a  school. 

The  latest  of  Newbattle  burying-places  is  the  new  family 
cemetery  of  the  house  of  Lothian,  laid  out  beside  the  river 
Esk  and  near  the  great  gate  where,  beside  an  uncle  and  aunt, 
the  late  beloved  and  distinguished  Marquess  of  Lothian  sleeps. 
A  fine  Celtic  cross  has  been  raised  over  the  grave. 


(145) 


XIII. 

THE  PASSING  AND  REST  OF  ARGYLL 


ON  the  ist  of  January,  1651,  the  Marquess  of  Argyll 
put  the  crown  on  the  head  of  Charles  II.  at  Scone, 
and  when  the  King  resolved  to  invade  England  and 
win  it  back  again  for  his  family,  it  was  Argyll  who 
dissuaded  him  from  doing  so, — an  advice  which  the 
defeat  of  Worcester  amply  justified  and  verified.  Everyone 
is  familiar  with  the  historical  facts  of  Argyll's  complications 
with  Oliver  Cromwell  and  the  Commonwealth,  and  the  strong 
suspicions  which  were  entertained  by  the  Crown  party  of  his 
tendencies  in  favour  of  the  Roundheads  and  the  Protector ; 
but  it  was  hard  that  when  he  went  up  in  1660  to  London  to 
congratulate  the  Sovereign,  whom  he  had  crowned  in  Scotland, 
on  his  Restoration  to  the  throne  of  the  entire  island,  he  should 
have  been  suspected  of  conspiracy,  thrown  into  the  Tower, 
and  condemned  to  be  sent  down  to  Scotland  for  trial  on  treason. 
It  was  on  the  27th  of  May,  1661,  that  he  was  publicly 
beheaded  at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh  with  the  Maiden,  declaring 
with  his  dying  breath  that  he  was  "  free  from  any  conspiracy 
against  his  late  Majesty's  death  "  ;  and  as  to  Charles  II.,  he 
declared  in  words  which  have  become  almost  classical, — 
"  I  had  the  honour  to  set  the  crown  on  the  King's  head,  and 
now  he  hastens  me  to  a  better  Crown  than  his  own." 

His  head  was  fixed  on  a  spike  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Tolbooth,  on  the  very  same  spike  on  which  his  rival  Montrose's 
head  had  been  exposed,  and  from  which  it  had  only  recently 
been  removed,  while  his  trunkless  body  was  carried  to  St. 
Magdalene's  Chapel  in  the  Cowgate,  where  the  first  General 
Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  had  been  held  under  John 
Knox,  and  where  the  latter's  colleague,  John  Craig,  once  Prior 
of  Bologna,  lectured  in  Latin  to  the  learned  men  of  Edin- 
burgh on  the  Reformed  doctrines  till  he  recovered  the  know- 
ledge of  his  native  tongue,  which  he  had  forgotten  during  his 
long  residence  abroad. 

(146) 


THE  PASSING  AND  REST  OF  ARGYLL. 

How  long  his  body  remained  in  the  Magdalene  Chapel, 
which  is  still  standing,  and  forms  part  of  the  Edinburgh 
Medical  Mission  buildings,  is  uncertain,  but  probably  it  lay 
there  for  only  a  few  days,  as  the  Earl  of  Lothian,  a  keen 
Covenanter,  like  Argyll,  made  arrangements  that  the  headless 
body  should  be  removed  to  his  own  private  vault  at  Newbattle, 
until  preparations  were  made  at  Kilmun, — the  burying-place 
of  the  Argylls, — to  receive  the  remains  of  the  chief  of  the 
Clan  Campbell. 

An  original  copy  of  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant 
is  still  hanging  in  the  ancestral  house  of  Newbattle,  and  the 
signatures  both  of  Argyll  and  Lothian  are  appended  to  it, 
along  with  many  another  famous  name  of  the  time.  There 
was,  therefore,  something  appropriate  in  the  Earl  of  Lothian, 
Nicodemus-like,  begging  the  body  of  the  great  Marquess,  with 
whose  house  his  own  was  afterwards  to  be  so  closely  allied, 
not  only  in  sympathy,  but  by  marriage.  Argyll's  body  was 
brought  out  from  the  Magdalene  Chapel  in  the  Cowgate,  and 
driven  in  a  carriage  by  the  old  Edinburgh  road  out  to  New- 
battle,  where  it  was  laid  in  the  vault  beneath  the  church, 
where  only  eight  years  before  Leighton  had  ministered.  That 
church  was  removed  in  1727  to  the  other  side  of  the  road  and. 
rebuilt  into  the  present  church  of  the  parish.  But  the  vault 
still  remains,  and  even  during  the  present  generation  has 
been  used  as  a  burial-place  for  members  of  the  Lothian  family. 
It  stands  immediately  behind  the  ancient  Monkland.  wall,  built 
by  William  the  Lion  as  a  protection  to  the  Abbey,  and  the 
old  trees  round  about  it  are  strongly  reminiscent  of  the  church- 
yard which  once  surrounded  it.  The  vault  to-day  bears  the 
inscription  on  three  marble  facings, — "  The  front  of  this  Isle 
was  enlarged  by  General  Lord  Mark  Kerr  A.D.  1888.  Jean, 
Marchioness  of  Lothian,  built  this  Isle  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1705,"  while  the  long  list  of  names  of  members  of  the  House 
of  Lothian  succeeds,  beginning  with  Mark  Ker,  the  last  Abbot 
of  Newbattle,  who,  with  his  son  and  successors,  lie  buried 
there.  A  stone  staircase  leads  down  to  the  vault,  and  a  single 
slab  of  stone  remains  as  a  memorial  of  the  old  church  which 
once  rose  above  it,  in  which  Leighton  preached  those  wonderful 
sermons  from  which  the  then  Earl  of  Lothian  declared  that 
he  got  "  more  good  from  them  than  from  those  "of  any  other 
that  ever  stood  in  a  pulpit."  That  church,  pulpit,  communion 

(147) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

plate,  library,  &c.,  were  all  removed  to  the  other  side  of  the 
Monkland  wall,  as  also  was  the  burying-place  of  the  parish. 

In  this  vault,  then,  consecrated  by  so  many  memories, 
Argyll's  body  rested  probably  for  a  month,  under  the  protection 
of  the  Earl  of  Lothian.  Thereafter,  probably  under  cover 
of  night,  it  was  removed  in  a  carriage  and  four  and  driven 
across  Scotland  to  the  Clyde,  where,  somewhere  about  Old 
Kilpatrick,  a  vessel  belonging  to  the  Argyll  family  was  in 
waiting  to  transport  the  body  of  the  chief  to  the  family  bury- 
ing-place at  Kilmun, — St.  Mund's, — on  the  Holy  Loch,  which 
got  its  name  from  the  fact  that  a  vessel  bringing  earth  from 
the  Holy  Land  foundered  in  its  waters.  Argyll's  head  re- 
mained on  the  spike  at  the  Edinburgh  Tolbooth  until  8th  June, 
1664,  when  a  warrant  was  obtained  from  Charles  II.,  whom 
Argyll  had  crowned  with  his  own  hand,  for  taking  it  down 
and  burying  it  with  his  body.  The  present  Duke  of  Argyll 
related  to  the  writer  how,  when  the  ancient  sepulchre  of  his 
ancestors  was  opened  for  the  burial  of  his  father,  "  we  found 
the  head  with  the  hole  through  it  made  by  the  spike  on  which 
it  had  been  fastened." 

The  Clyde  was  then  little  more  than  a  mountain  torrent, 
a  few  inches  deep  at  Glasgow,  and  winding  its  way  down  to 
Dumbarton  Rock,  with  its  martial  memories,  with  no  preten- 
sions to  being  a  river.  Probably  the  little  harbour  from  which 
after  its  long  cross-country  journey,  following  the  line  of  the 
old  Roman  road  and  wall,  the  body  of  Argyll  was  transported 
to  the  wherry,  was  somewhere  between  Bowling  and  the  shore 
below  Old  Kilpatrick.  And  thus  the  great  Marquess  had  his 
passing  like  one  of  Tennyson's  heroes  or  as  in  the  old  Norse 
Sagas,  across  the  dim,  mysterious  tide  to  his  everlasting  rest. 
The  close  link  thus  formed  between  the  Earl  of  Lothian  and 
the  Marquess  of  Argyll  was  further  strengthened  by  the  mar- 
riage of  the  former  to  Jane,  daughter  of  the  executed  peer. 

Curiously,  the  great  Marquess's  son,  Archibald  Campbell, 
the  ninth  Earl  of  Argyll,  had  in  almost  every  detail  the  same 
passing,  rest,  and  final  interment.  On  June  3oth,  1685,  he 
was  executed  at  Edinburgh  on.  the  Maiden,  before  which  he 
made  a  short,  grave  speech,  and,  finally,  so  great  was  his 
composure,  brought  out  a  little  ruler  out  of  his  pocket  and 
measured  the  block,  and,  seeing  that  it  did  not  lie  even, 
notified  the  carpenter  and  had  it  rectified.  He  had  already, 

(148) 


THE  PASSING  AND  REST  OF  ARGYLL. 

the  day  before  his  execution,  composed  a  poetical  epitaph  to 
be  placed  over  his  grave.  After  all  was  over,  his  body  was 
brought  out  to  Newbattle  and  laid  in  the  same  Lothian  vault 
in  which  his  father's  ashes  had  rested  for  a  month  or  so, — 
only  fate  decreed  that  his  remains  should  rest  there  for  nearly 
twenty  years,  from  1685  until  the  loth  of  April,  1704,  when 
they  were  taken,  along  with  the  body  of  the  first  Duke  of 
Argyll,  down  to  Kilmun,  and  buried  with  their  kindred  dust 
in  St.  Mund's  lonely  chapel.  Curiously,  his  daughter  married 
the  Marquess  of  Lothian,  and  thus  a  second  link  was  formed 
between  Lothian  and  Argyll. 

The  collegiate  church  of  St.  Mund  was  founded  in  1442 
for  a  provost  and  six  prebendaries  by  Sir  Duncan  Campbell 
of  Lochawe.  It  has,  however,  an  even  earlier  ecclesiastical 
glory  and  position  than  this,  for  in  the  early  Columban  or 
Culdee  Church,  Kilmund  ranked  with  Dunblane,  Dunkeld, 
and  Abernethy,  as  one  of  the  great  seats  of  the  early  pre- 
Roman  Church  of  Scotland.  It  was  on  the  4th  of  August, 
1442,  that  it  was  dedicated  as  a  collegiate  church  with  seven 
Highland  clergy  to  the  memory  of  the  Culdee  Abbot,  St. 
Mund,  but  of  the  great  building  to  -  day  only  the  tower, 
forty  feet  high,  and  the  burial  vault  remain.  The  church 
was  founded  on  the  spot  where  the  vessel  carrying  soil  from  the 
Holy  Land  for  the  foundation  of  Glasgow  Cathedral  was 
stranded,  and  casting  out  its  precious  freight,  gave  the  name 
of  Holy  Loch  to  that  arm  of  the  Firth  of  Clyde  for  ever. 
The  Paradise  of  Chichester  Cathedral  and  other  churches  re- 
ceived soil  from  Palestine,  but  the  accidental  foundering  of 
the  vessel  in  the  loch,  which  is  surrounded  by  the  steep  frown- 
ing glories  of  "  Argyll's  bowling-green,"  gave  the  name  to 
the  Holy  Loch,  on  whose  shore  rest  the  generations  of  the 
Argylls,  who,  in  calm  and  stormy  weather,  sought  to  serve 
their  country  and  their  God.  Beside  the  silent  sea,  the 
Campbell  clansmen  in  their  generations  have  waited  for  the 
muffled  oar,  which  brought  home  their  noble  dead;  but  never 
under  such  pathetic  circumstances  as  when,  first  the  father 
and  then  the  son  of  the  Argyll  house  was  borne  from  the 
scaffold,  first  to  their  friendly  rest  among  the  greenwood  of 
Newbattle,  and  thence  to  the  sweet  chapel  by  the  shore  of  the 
Holy  Loch.  Sunset  and  evening  star,  -scarlet  bars  in  the  sky 
above  the  rolling,  rugged  mountains  which  overshadow  the 

(M9) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

loch,  have  gleamed  many  a  time  over  the  strange  burial 
scenes  of  a  romantic  house,  but  never  over  such  pathetic 
obsequies  as  these. 

It  was  a  strange  fate  which  led  the  daughters  of 
the  Marquess  and  Earl  of  Argyll,  respectively,  to  become 
united  with  the  heads  of  the  House  of  Lothian.  Fine  por- 
traits of  the  two  executed  Argylls  hang  in  Newbattle  House 
to-day,  alongside  of  the  martial  Kers,  and  of  the  wonderful 
Vandykes,  which  are  the  priceless  treasure  of  the  place.  "  The 
three  heads  of  Charles  I.,"  painted  by  Vandyke,  in  order  that 
a  bust  of  the  author  of  the  "  Eikon  Basilike "  might  be 
made  for  the  Pope,  and  given  by  the  King  as  a  parting 
gift  to  his  bosom  friend,  the  Earl  of  Strafford,  who  finally 
also  went  to  the  block,  his  peer's  robe,  with  the  blood  on  the 
collar,  still  lying  in  the  crypt  at  Newbattle,  is  in  fitting  com- 
pany, for  it  was  round  that  first  execution  that  the  storm 
began  to  rage,  which  sent  both  the  Argylls  to  the  Maiden, 
and  distressed  two  nations  for  nearly  half  a  century. 

In  reference  to  these  interesting  historical  events,  the  late 
Very  Rev.  Principal  Story,  of  Glasgow  University,  was  good 
enough  to  add  the  following  touching  incident  to  my  nar- 
rative : — 

"  Several  years  ago  it  came  to  my  knowledge  that  an  old  widow 
near  Garelochhead  said  she  possessed  the  blanket  in  which  the  Mar- 
quess of  Argyll's  body  had  been  wrapped  after  his  execution.  On 
mentioning  this  to  the  late  Duke  of  Argyll,  I  found  that  he  believed 
that  he  had  the  blanket  at  Inveraray.  The  old  woman,  however,  was 
positive,  and  could  trace  the  blanket  as  coming  to  her  late  husband's 
possession  through  a  succession  of  forebears  who  had  been  servants 
to  the  Argyll  family,  and  the  first  of  whom  had  been  ghillie  to  the 
decapitated  Marquess.  After  some  negotiation,  the  Duke  agreed  to 
buy  the  blanket  from  the  widow,  and  it  was  duly  sent  to  Inveraray. 
On  careful  examination,  it  was  found  it  was  a  half  of  the  plaid  of 
which  the  other  half  was  the  portion  in  the  Duke's  possession.  The 
two  fitted  into  each  other  exactly,  and  were,  when  this  correspondence 
was  established,  sewn  together  by  Princess  Louise.  The  two  halves 
thus  restored  to  each  other  after  a  long  and  romantic  separation, 
which  had  taken  one  to  the  Castle  of  the  Argylls  and  left  the  other 
as  a  treasured  memento  in  the  humble  dwelling  of  the  ghillie  of  the 
great  Marquess.  If  you  write  anything  further  with  regard  to  him, 
you  might  relate  this  anecdote." 


(150) 


XIV. 

KNOX  AND  THE  E5KSIDE  PARISHES. 


THE  discussion  as  to  the  date  and  place  of  John  Knox's 
birth  was  bound  to  come,  and  the  pleasant  rivalries 
between  the  Haddingtonshire  claimants  are,  perhaps, 
the  best  compliment  that  could  have  been  paid  to 
the  memory  of  the  Reformer  whose  statue  adorns  the 
front  of  the  Knox  Institute  in  the  town  of  the  "  Lamp  of 
Lothian."  The  ancient  seat  of  the  family  was  Ranfurlie, 
near  Paisley,  and  the  most  prominent  living  representative  of 
the  historic  house  is  the  Earl  of  Ranfurlie,  Uchter  John  Mark 
Knox,  K.C.M.G.,  the  fifth  to  bear  the  title,  who  till  recently 
was  Governor-General  of  New  Zealand,  and  with  the  Parlia- 
ment and  people  of  the  Brighter  Britain  of  the  southern 
hemisphere,  answered  the  rejoicings  of  Great  Britain's  enemies 
by  a  magnanimous  offer  of  unlimited  assistance  in  the  South 
African  war.  The  Ranfurlie  lands  seem  to  have  been  granted 
to  the  Knox  family  by  Uchtred,  the  second  Earl  of  North- 
umberland, and  the  family  names  have  generally  been  John, 
Uchter,  and  William.  Whether  the  connection  of  the  family 
with  Haddington  was  older  than  with  Ranfurlie  is  another 
point  in  dispute,  for  in  a  conversation  with  the  Earl  of  Both- 
well,  whose  house  had  an  ancient  interest  in  Haddingtonshire, 
the  Reformer  said  : — "  My  Lord,  my  great-grandfather,  gude- 
sire,  and  father  have  served  your  Lordship's  predecessors,  and 
some  of  them  have  died  under  their  standards,  and  this  is  a 
part  of  the  obligation  of  our  Scottish  kindness."  At  any  rate, 
the  two  families  were  intimately  related,  and  both  can  claim 
a  share  in  the  ancestry  of  him  "  who  never  feared  the  face  of 
man." 

The  connection  of  Knox  with  Haddingtonshire,  Edin- 
burgh, and  other  places  is  so  familiar,  that,  without  his  name 
and  influence,  a  great  part  of  their  history  would  disappear. 
There  are,  however,  some  sidelights  which  can  be  thrown  on 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

the  Reformer's  house  and  immediate  relatives  by  several  of  the 
parishes  which  border  on  the  Esk  in  Mid-Lothian,  Newbattle  in- 
cluded. Whether  he  was  a  brother  or  a  nephew  of  the  Reformer, 
William  Knox,  who  was  first  Reformed  minister  of  Cockpen, 
seems  to  be  another  doubtful  point.  In  a  valuable  volume 
of  "  Knox  Genealogy,"  prepared  by  "  a  lineal  descendant," 
it  is  categorically  stated  that  "  William  Knox,  elder  son  of 
the  laird  of  Gifford  and  brother  of  the  Reformer,  who  was  a 
merchant  in  Preston,"  was  the  father  of  William  Knox,  the 
first  Reformed  minister  of  Cockpen  (1567-1592);  while  the 
Rev.  Mr  Thomson,  of  Rosslyn  or  Roslin  Chapel,  in  his  work  on 
"Roslyn  and  Hawthornden,"  and  others,  describe  the  first  min- 
ister of  Cockpen  as  John  Knox's  brother;  the  late  Mr  Peter 
Mitchell,  session-clerk  to  the  parish,  and  author  of  "  Cockpen 
in  the  Olden  Time,"  who  had  access  to  records,  and  was  a  good 
antiquarian,  describes  him  as  ' '  brother,  or,  as  some  would 
have  it,  nephew,  of  the  Reformer." 

From  the  "  Genealogy  of  the  Knoxes,"  referred  to  by 
M'Crie  in  his  "  Life  of  Knox,"  which  passed  directly  down 
from  generation  to  generation,  and  finally  was  found  in  1838 
amongst  the  belongings  of  Miss  Charlotte  Knox,  the  last  sur- 
vivor of  the  William  Knox  family,  it  is  pretty  clear  that  the 
first  Reformed  minister  of  Cockpen  was  not  the  brother,  but 
the  nephew  of  the  Reformer.  William  Knox,  laird  of  Gifford, 
had  two  sons, — William,  who  became  a  merchant  in  Preston, 
and  John,  who  became  the  Reformer.  William  Knox,  the 
Preston  merchant,  had  one  son,  William,  who  seems  to  have 
become  the  first  Protestant  minister  of  Cockpen  (1567-92).  In 
the  records  of  the  Presbytery  of  Dalkeith,  his  name  frequently 
appears  in  connection  with  the  Reformation  movements  in  the 
neighbourhood.  On  27th  February,  1589,  he  was  censured 
by  the  Presbytery  for  baptising  the  Laird  of  Rosslyn's  child, 
and  compelled  to  confess  his  fault,  "  notably  because  the  said 
kirk  was  bot  ane  house  and  monument  of  idolatrie  and  not  ane 
place  appointit  for  teiching  the  word  and  ministratioun  of  ye 
sacramentis,  ane  act  for  which  he  suld  ask  God's  forgiveness 
for  yt.  his  offence  baptizing  ye  bairne  in  yt.  place." 

Rosslyn  Chapel  seems  to  have  given  the  more  ardent 
Reformers  of  the  neighbourhood  a  good  deal  of  concern  in 
William  Knox's  time,  just  as  the  other  collegiate  church  of 
Restalrig,  at  the  foot  of  Arthur's  Seat,  did  in  1560,  when  the 


KNOX  AND  THE  ESKS1DE  PARISHES. 

General  Assembly, — the  only  instance  of  the  kind  on  record, 
— gave  orders  that  "  the  kirk  of  Restalrig  as  monument  of 
idolatry,  be  razed  and  utterly  casten  down  and  destroyed." 
Such  is  the  Assembly's  minute  of  2ist  December,  1560,— 
almost  the  first  minute  of  the  first  Assembly  of  John  Knox, — 
and  the  explanation  of  the  strong  measures  taken  is  that  Restal- 
rig was  a  popular  place  of  pilgrimage,  where  diseases  of  the 
eye  were  supposed  to  be  cured,  one  of  the  most  renowned  cures 
being  that  of  John,  Bishop  of  Caithness,  who  in  1200  jour- 
neyed from  Scrabster,  blinded,  and  with  his  tongue  cut  out 
by  Earl  Harold  of  Orkney  (as  the  old  Saga  relates),  and  his 
pilgrimage,  it  was  averred,  restored  him  to  sight.  At  the 
other  collegiate  church  of  Rosslyn,  the  laird  resolutely  refused 
to  remove  the  images  and  altars  of  the  saints,  and  the  Pres- 
bytery being  informed  by  him  that  "  he  would  defend  them  as 
he  might,  ....  judgit  the  laird  not  sound  in  his  religion." 
Mr  George  Ramsay,  minister  of  Lasswade,  was  in  1590  for- 
bidden by  the  Presbytery  to  bury  Oliver  St.  Clair's  wife  in 
the  chapel,  and  Mr  Ramsay,  on  24th  September  of  that  year, 
reported  how  he  had  gone  to  Rosslyn  and  found  six  altars 
standing  undemolished,  as  well  as  some  broken  images,  and 
when  he  expostulated  with  the  laird  he  got  no  satisfaction. 
The  laird  was  then  summoned  before  the  Presbytery  to  "  sub- 
scribe to  the  heids  of  religion  and  also  to  have  himself  injoined 
to  destroy  the  monuments  of  idolatry."  The  laird  declined 
to  do  so, — "  as  to  ye  monumentis  of  idolatrie  ye  Laird  of 
Rosling  says  he  will  not  demolish  thame  nouther  gif  King  nor 
Kirk  command  him."  After  being  summoned  before  the 
General  Assembly,  and  after  the  Presbytery's  threat  of  ex- 
communication, the  upper  stones  of  the  altars  were  removed, 
but  the  bases  were  left  still  standing  undemolished.  The  laird 
was  again  ordered  to  compear  before  the  Dalkeith  Presbytery 
on  Thursday,  August  i7th,  1592,  at  nine  in  the  morning,  "  and 
have  himself  summarily  excommunicated  in  ye  Kirk  of  Dal- 
keith," the  sentence  to  be  pronounced  from  the  pulpit  of  Lass- 
wade  Kirk.  At  last  he  gave  way,  and  on  3ist  August,  1592, 
Mr  George  Ramsay  reported  that  the  altars  were  demolished, 
"  till  ane  stane  or  twa  hight,  and  yt  the  acts  of  the  Generall, 
Provinciall,  and  Presbyteriall  Assemblies  were  fully  satisfiet. 
For  the  qlk  the  breither  praysit  God." 

1592   was  the  closing  year  of  William  Knox's  ministry 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

at  Cockpen,  when  Rosslyn  Chapel  was  finally  declared  free  of 
altars  and  images, — his  death  taking  place  in  that  year.  He 
was  succeeded  in  his  ministry  at  Cockpen  by  his  second  son, 
William,  who  served  the  parish  until  1623,  dying  in  his 
fifty-fourth  year.  His  eldest  son,  John,  became  minister  first 
of  Lauder  and  afterwards  of  Melrose,  while  his  youngest, 
James,  who  was  elected  one  of  the  Regents  of  Edinburgh 
University  in  1598,  was  minister  of  Kelso  from  1605  until 

1633- 

The  second  minister  of  Cockpen,  William  Knox,  the  son 
of  the  nephew  of  the  Reformer,  left  six  sons,  the  eldest  of 
whom,  John,  was  minister  of  Carrington  from  1619  until  1661. 
It  was  he  who  ordained  Robert  Leighton,  afterwards  Principal 
of  Edinburgh  University,  Bishop  of  Dunblane,  and  Archbishop 
of  Glasgow,  to  the  ministry  of  Newbattle  parish.  The  ex- 
tracts from  the  records  of  the  Presbytery  of  Dalkeith  bearing 
upon  the  ordination  of  the  saintly  Leighton  to  Newbattle  are 
sufficiently  interesting  to  bear  repetition.  "  Dec.  2,  1641. 
Compeared  ye  parishioners  of  Newbottle  and  testified  their 
accepting  Mr  Robert  Lichtoune  to  be  their  minister."  Dec. 
7,  1641.  Returned  Mr  Robert  Lichtoune  his  two  theses: 
endorsed.  Compeared  the  parishioners  of  Newbottle  and  ac- 
cepted." "  Dec.  16,  1641.  Admission  Mr  Robert  Lichtoune. 
Whilk  day  (being  appointed  for  ye  admission  of  Mr  Robert 
Lichtoune)  preached  Mr  Johne  Knox,  Hebrews  xiii.,  17, — 
'  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you  and  submit  yourselves ; 
for  they  watch  for  your  souls  as  they  that  must  give  account : 
that  they  may  do  it  with  joy  and  not  with  grief  :  for  that  is 
unprofitable  for  you.'  Whilk  day  after  sermon  Mr  Johne  Knox 
put  to  Mr  R.  Lichtoune  and  ye  parishioners  of  Newbottle 
sundry  questions  competent  to  ye  occasion,  and  after  imposition 
of  hands  and  ye  solemne  prayer  was  admitted  minister  at 
Newbottle.  Abssent  Mr  James  Porteous,  elder.  Mr  Robert 
Rodger  to  intimate  on  Sunday  next  ye  translation."  The 
presbyters  who  assisted  John  Knox's  namesake,  and  great- 
grand-nephew  in  ordaining  the  famous  divine  and  peacemaker 
to  his  first  charge  at  Newbattle  were  Andrew  Cant,  his  im- 
mediate predecessor  in  the  cure,  who  had  been  called  to  Aber- 
deen ;  Oliver  Colt,  of  Inveresk,  the  founder  of  the  Colt  family, 
which  gives  its  name  still  to  Coltness,  and  of  whom  it  is  related 
that  when  complaining  of  the  heaviness  of  his  charge  at  Mus- 

(i54) 


KNOX  AND  THE  ESKSIDE  PARISHES. 

selburgh,  Leighton,  with  his  quaint  wit,  said, — "  It  is  too 
much  to  lay  upon  a  colt."  To  which  the  Inveresk  divine 
replied, — "  To  the  minister  of  Newbattle  it  would  be  a  light 
'un."  Hew  Campbell,  William  Calderwood,  Patrick  Sibbald, 
J.  Gillies,  Adam  and  Gideon  Penman,  Robert  Couper;  and  for 
elders,  James  Porteous,  elder  at  Newbattle,  and  ancestor  of 
the  famous  Bishop  Beilby  Porteous,  of  London,  who  wrote 
the  "  Christian  Evidences,"  and  who,  with  three  others,  pre- 
sented the  four  ancient  Communion  cups  still  in  use  in  New- 
battle  Parish  Church,  of  solid  virgin-silver,  hammer-beaten. 
Other  elders  present  were  Alexander  and  James  Rotson  and 
John  Logan,  and  the  ordination  took  place  in  the  old  church, 
beneath  which,  at  a  later  day,  for  some  two  months  the  remains 
of  the  beheaded  Argyll  were  kept,  prior  to  their  removal  to 
the  family  burial-place  at  Kilmun,  under  the  protecting  care 
of  the  Earl  of  Lothian,  whose  sympathies  with  the  Covenanting 
cause  were  shown  by  his  signing  the  Solemn  League  and  Cove- 
nant, an  original  copy  of  which  still  hangs  in  Newbattle  House. 

John  Knox's  great-grand-nephew,  minister  of  Carrington, 
thus  took  the  leading  part  on  that  gloomy  December  day,  which 
the  Christian  Calendar  marks  with  "  O  Sapientia,"  in  the 
ordination  of  one  whose  wisdom,  learning,  and  spirituality  are 
the  admiration  of  all  branches  of  the  Christian  Church. 

In  the  course  of  events  this  John  Knox  became  frail, 
and  his  son,  John,  was  appointed  his  colleague  and  successor 
in  the  pastorate  of  the  sweet  village  by  the  Esk,  called  then 
Carrington  or  Kerington,  though  also  by  the  softer  and  more 
poetic  name  of  Primrose,  thus  connecting  it  with  the  House 
of  Rosebery,  the  old  family  residence  of  which  lies  close  by, 
surrounded  by  its  great  old  trees,  and  within  hearing  of  the 
plash  of  the  great  reservoirs  which  refresh  the  capital  of  Scot- 
land. 

The  ministerial  descendants  of  Mr  William  Knox,  the  first 
Reformed  minister  of  Cockpen,  were  legion ;  but  it  is  inters 
esting  to  note  these  four  generations  which  served  first  in  the 
ancient  chapel  of  Cockpen,  now  standing  in  ruins,  covered 
with  masses  of  ivy,  and  sheltering  the  marble  obelisk  which 
rises  over  the  greatest  Viceroy  of  India  who  ever  lived,  the 
Marquess  of  Dalhousie,  and  the  two  last  in  the  peaceful  hamlet 
of  Carrington,  where  the  early  primroses  to-day  speak  of  the 
sweetness  and  appropriateness  of  its  ancient  name. 


XV. 


ARCHBISHOP  LEIGHTON  AND  HIS 
NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 


ON  the   1 6th  of  December,    1641,   a  memorable  event 
took  place  in  Newbattle, — memorable  both  for  the 
parish,  the  country,  and  Christendom  at  large.     On 
the  afternoon  of  that  day,  within  the  walls  of  the 
older  Newbattle  Church,  now  inside  the  Marquisial 
grounds,  the  ruins  of  which  are  now  used  as  a  vault,  Robert 
Leighton  was  ordained  to  the  holy  ministry  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  and  to  the  pastorate  of  Newbattle  parish.     That  old 
church  was  built  of  the  stones  of  the  demolished  Abbey;  and 
when  it,  in  turn,  fell  into  decay,  or  proved  too  small  for  the 
parish,  the  stones  were  carted  away  a  second  time,  in  1727, 
and  built  up  again  into  the  present  Parish  Church, — the  older 
portions  of  which  are  all  composed  of  the  ancient  monastery 
stones ;  and  on  some  of  these,  especially  in  the  steeple,  carvings 
and  figures  may  still  be  traced. 

We  may  therefore  very  well  hold  these  stones  dear,  when 
they  have  such  a  memorable  history  behind  them ;  and  to  the 
old  question  of  Israel,  "What  mean  ye  by  these  stones?" 
we  can  reply  by  telling  the  story  of  their  fates  and  fortunes, 
and  how,  to  successive  generations  for  700  years,  they  have 
been  like  the  stones  which  Jacob  raised  at  the  place  where  he 
saw  the  vision  of  angels, — witnesses  to  and  of  the  near  presence 
of  God  Almighty.  They  bear  the  marks  of  where  the  ends 
of  the  heavenly  ladder  rested ;  to  many  they  have  been  the 
pillars  of  the  gate  of  Paradise,  through  which,  in  spirit,  they 
have  passed  into  the  world  unseen.  "  Behold  a  ladder  set 
up  on  the  earth,  and  the  top  of  it  reached  to  heaven ;  and 
behold  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descending  on  it. 
And,  behold,  the  Lord  God  stood  above  it.  And  Jacob  called 
the  name  of  the  place  Bethel, — God's  house  !"  Sacred  is  the 
place  where  the  stumbling  soul  of  man  climbs  up  to  the  Father 
above,  and,  above  all,  where  the  Father  above  condescends 


ARCHBISHOP  LE1GHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

to  meet  His  children  below.  I  cannot  understand  any  truly 
religious  man  not  having  a  deep  and  sacred  affection  and  awe 
for  the  visible  courts  of  God's  House.  "  Her  saints  take 
pleasure  in  her  stones  :  Lord  I  have  loved  the  habitation  of  Thy 
house,  and  the  place  where  Thine  honour  dwelleth  !" 

While,  therefore,  we  do  not  worship  in  the  same  church 
as  that  in  which  Leighton  ministered,  nor  in  that  oldest  sanctu- 
ary of  all,  where,  for  500  years,  the  lights  of  devotion  burned 
with  remarkable  clearness ;  still  we  can  call  the  stones  and  walls 
of  our  present  sanctuary  to  witness  that  they  have  heard 
Leighton's  voice,  and  looked  down  on  the  solemn  and  ornate 
functions  of  the  ancient  Cistercian  Abbey. 

The  figure  that  received  ordination  on  that  dark  December 
afternoon,  more  than  seven  generations  ago,  was  small,  frail, 
slight,  and  insignificant.  The  face  bore  evidences  of  care 
and  anxiety,  though  its  owner  was  only  thirty  years  of  age. 
A  word  about  his  previous  history.  His  father,  a  medical 
doctor,  who  lived  at  the  beginning  of  these  troublous  times  when 
Episcopacy  and  Presbytery  fought  between  themselves  for 
supremacy,  had  his  ears  cut  off  and  his  nose  slit  for  writing  a 
controversial  book,  entitled  "Zion's  Plea  against  Prelacy,"  in 
which  he  used  language  of  terrible  severity  against  the  bishops 
who  then  ruled  the  Church  of  Scotland.  Further  punishment 
followed,  for  he  was  thrown  into  prison,  and  was  not  released 
till  the  year  when  his  son  was  ordained  at  Newbattle  (1641). 
The  son  might  well  look  care-worn  after  such  a  terrible 
domestic  trial. 

Robert  was  born  in  London  in  1611,  and  though  the  family 
was  Scotch,  he  was  reared  in  England.  But  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen he  was  sent  home  to  Scotland  and  enrolled  as  a  student  in 
Edinburgh  University.  While  at  Edinburgh  College,  which 
had  not  been  very  long  founded,  and  of  which  he  was  after- 
wards to  be  Principal,  he  got  into  trouble,  which  he  explains 
in  the  following  letter  written  to  his  father  : — 

It  is  addressed  "To  my  kind  and  loving  father,   Mr  Alexander 
Leighton,   Dr  of  Medecine,   at  his  house  on  the  top  of  Pudle 
Hill,  beside  the  Blacke  Friars  Gate,  near  the  Kinges  Wardrobe 
there,  London  : — 
"  Sir, 

"  The  buisnes  that  fell  out  with  me,  which  I  cannot  without 
sorrow  relate  that  such  a  thing  should  have  fallen  out,  yet  having 
some  hope  to  repe  good  out  of  it  as  yow  exhort  me — it,  I  say,  was 
thus.  There  was  a  fight  betweene  our  Classe  and  the  Semies,  which 
made  the  Provost  to  restraine  us  from  the  play  a  good  while ;  the  boyes 

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THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

upon  that  made  some  verses,  one  or  two  in  every  classe,  mocking  the 
Provost's  red  nose.  I,  sitting  beside  my  Lord  Borundell  and  the  Earl 
of  Ha[dington's]  son,  speaking  about  these  verses  which  the  boyes  had 
made,  spoke  a  thing  in  prose  concerning  his  nose,  not  out  of  spite 
for  wanting  the  play,  neither  having  taken  notice  of  his  nose,  but 
out  of  their  report,  for  I  never  saw  [him]  before  but  once,  neither 
thought  I  him  to  be  a  man  of  great  state.  This  I  spoke  of  his  name, 
and  presently,  upon  their  request,  turned  it  into  a  verse  thus  : 

'  That  which  his  name  importes  is  falsely  sad,  His  name  is 

That  of  the  oken  wood  his  head  is  made,  Okenhead. 

For  why,  if  it  had  bein  composed  so, 
His  flaming  nose  had  fir'd  it  long  ago.' 

"The  Verses  of  Apology  not  onely  for  myself e  but  for  the  rest 
yow  have  in  that  paper.  I  hope  the  Lord  shal  bring  good  out  of  it 
to  me.  As  for  the  Primare  and  Regents,  to  say  the  trueth,  they 
thought  it  not  so  hainous  a  thing  as  I  my  selfe  did  justly  thinke  it. 
Pray  for  me  as  I  know  you  doe,  that  the  Lord  may  keepe  me  from 
like  f  als ;  if  I  have  either  Christianity  or  naturality,  it  will  not  suffer 
me  to  forget  yow,  but  as  I  am  able  to  remember  yow  still  to  God ;  and 
to  endeavour  that  my  wayes  greive  not  God  and  yow  my  deare 
Parentes,  the  desire  of  my  heart  is  to  be  as  litle  chargeable  as  may 
be.  Now  desireing  the  Lord  to  keepe  yow,  I  rest,  ever  endeavouring 
to  be, 

"Your  obedient  Son, 

"  ROBERT  LEIGHTON. 

"  I  pray  yow,  Sir,  remember  my  humble  duety  to  my  mother,  my 
loving  brethren  and  sisters  :  remember  my  duety  to  all  my  friendes. 
EDENBROUGH,  May  6,  1628.", 

He  passed  thence  to  the  Continent,  where  he  spent  ten 
years,  and  there  he  received  the  impulse  that  guided  his  whole 
after-life.  While  in  France  he  came  into  close  contact  with 
the  Jansenists  and  the  great  leaders  of  the  religious  movement 
known  as  Quietism,  the  chief  idea  of  which  was  that  religion 
should  bring  about  peace  and  quiet  in  the  soul :  the  essence 
of  Christianity  is  a  quiet  inner  life.  Quietism  was  then  only 
in  its  infancy,  but  a  few  years  after  Leighton  left  the  Con- 
tinent it  came  to  a  climax,  when  Madame  Guyon,  the  greatest 
of  the  Quietists  within  the  Church  of  Rome  after  Archbishop 
Pension,  was  thrown  into  the  Bastille  in  Paris,  and  allowed 
to  languish'  there  in  solitude,  as  she  wrote  herself  while  in 

jail  : — 

"A  little  bird  I  am 
Shut  out  from  fields  of  air ; 
But  in  my  cage  I  sit  and  sing 
To  Him  who  placed  me  there; 
Well-pleased  a  prisoner  to  be ; 
Well-pleased  because  it  pleases  Thee  !" 

Leighton  caught  the  calm,  peaceful,  elevated  spirit,  which 
possessed  him  all  through  life,  as  the  per  fume- incense  possesses 
the  violet,  from  these  good  people.  He  carried  it  with  him 
untainted  in  an  age  of  fierce  controversy  and  most  unchristian 


ARCHBISHOP  LE1GHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

temper ;  when  there  was  much  talk  and  warring  about  religion, 
but  very  little  real,  practical  religion;  when  people  seemed 
to  lay  more  stress  on  pure  Christianity  than  applied  Chris- 
tianity. When  almost  everyone  else  on  both  sides  chose  as  his 
crest  the  thistle  or  the  briar,  or  some  other  of  the  offensive  tribe, 
Leighton  carried  the  white  flower  of  peace  and  love,  and  a 
blameless  life. 

It  was  from  these  early  Quietists  that  he  learned  how  to 
possess  his  soul  in  patience,  and  to  have  his  spirit  kept  in 
perfect  peace.  "  In  quietness  and  confidence  shall  be  your 
strength  !"  His  life-principle  is  summed  up  in  the  lines  by 
Madame  Guyon,  who  has  been  already  quoted,  and  who, 
though  a  Roman  Catholic,  held  the  same  deep  principle  of 
faith  :— 

"  Yield  to  the  Lord  with  simple  heart 
All  that  thou  hast  and  all  thou  art ; 
Renounce  all  strength  but  strength  divine, 
And  peace  shall  be  for  ever  thine. 

"  Confess   Him  righteous  in   His  just  decrees, 
Love  what  He  loves,  and  let  his  pleasures  please ; 
Die  daily  :   from  the  touch  of  sin  recede; 
Then  thou  hast  crowned  Him,  and  He  reigns  indeed  !" 

In  1641  Robert  Leighton  returned  from  Paris  and  was 
at  once  ordained  to  Newbattle,  where  he  remained  for  eleven 
years.  The  present  manse  is  where  he  lived,  and  was  built 
in  1625,  and  bears  the  weather-beaten  inscription,  "  Evangelic 
et  posteris," — "  For  the  Gospel  and  Posterity." 

Extract  from  the  Records  of  the  Presbytery  of  Dalkeith  : — 

"Dec.  2,  1641.  Compeared  ye  parishioners  of  Newbottle  and 
testified  their  accepting  Mr  Robert  Lichtoune  to  be  their  minister." 

"Dec.  7,  1641.  Returned  Mr  Robert  Lichtoune  his  two  theses 
[i.e.  trial  sermons]  :  endorsed.  Compeared  ye  parishioners  of  New- 
bottle  and  accepted." 

"  Dec.  16.  Admission  Mr  Robert  Lichtoune.  Whilk  day  (being 
appointed  for  ye  admission  of  Mr  Robt.  Lichtoune)  preached  Mr 
Johne  Knox  :  Hebrews  13.  17.  Whilk  day  after  sermon,  Mr  Johne 
Knox  put  to  Mr  R.  Lichtoune  and  ye  parishioners  of  Newbottle, 
sundry  questions,  competent  to  ye  occasion,  and  after  imposition  of 
hands  and  ye  solemne  prayer,  was  admitted  minister  at  Newbottle. 
Absent  Mr  James  Porteous,  elder.  Mr  Robt.  Rodger  to  intimate  on 
Sunday  next  ye  translation." 

The  following  list  of  some  of  the  ministers  of  Dalkeith 
Presbytery  while  Leighton  was  at  Newbattle  has  been  gathered 
together  out  of  the  dim  and  faded  pages  of  the  Presbytery 
Records,  written  in  curious  twisted  hands,  and  the  ink  faded 
away  with  two-and-a-half  centuries  of  age  : — 

(i59) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Rev.  Andro  Cant. 

Rev.  Oliver  Colt  (Inveresk). 

Rev.   Hew  Campbell. 

Rev.  John  Knox. 

Rev.  Wm.  Calderwood. 

Rev.   Patrick  Sibbald. 

Rev.  J.  Gillies  (previously  Bishop,  Lasswade). 

Revs.  Adam  and  Gideon  Penman ;  Mr  Robt.  Couper ;  Mr  James 
Porteous,  elder  at  Newbattle ;  Alexander  Rotson ;  John  Logan ;  James 
and  Alexander  Rotson,  elders. 

He  carried  out  in  his  ministry  there  those  deep  principles 
of  love  and  peace  which  had  been  instilled  into  him  abroad, 
and  which  are  the  two  great  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  For  eleven 
years,  from  the  very  pulpit  which  is  still  in  regular  use  (made 
of  dark  oak  beautifully  carved),  those  principles  were  earnestly 
and  eloquently  preached.  A  distinguished  critic  of  to-day 
says  that,  of  all  the  sermons  of  the  period,  alike  Covenanting 
and  Episcopal,  his  are  the  only  ones  which  will  bear  reading, 
and  which  are  still  true  and  useful.  He  was  a  man  "  born 
out  of  due  time."  He  lived  before  his  age.  While  nothing 
whatever  was  heard  in  the  Church  and  society  but  the  battle- 
cry  and  the  shouts  of  parties  and  sects  which  delighted  in  war, 
he  sent  forth  from  his  peaceful  retreat  his  peaceful  and  moder- 
ate advices  to  the  Church  of  the  land,  advices  which,  if  they 
had  been  taken  to  heart  sooner  (as  they  are  at  last  being  taken 
now),  it  would  have  fared  better  with  all  concerned. 

While  in  Newbattle  he  wrote  several  of  his  great  religious 
works, — his  "  Exposition  of  St.  Peter  "  and  his  theological 
and  other  treatises, — all  of  which  are  of  the  first  value  to  the 
scholar  and  divine  even  yet.  You  cannot  take  up  any  collection 
of  religious  sayings  and  maxims,  any  modern  devotional 
manual,  any  guide  to  heaven,  without  seeing  Leighton's  name 
occurring  over  and  over  again  with  far  greater  frequency  than 
any  other, — ancient  or  modern.  Most  of  these  thoughts  were 
matured  amid  the  beautiful  surroundings  of  Newbattle.  A 
contemporary  of  his,  writing  a  few  years  before  his  death, 
says  of  his  preaching: — "There  was  a  majesty  and  beauty 
in  it  that  left  so  deep  an  impression  that  I  cannot  yet  forget 
the  sermons  I  heard  him  preach  thirty  years  ago  "  (Arch- 
bishop Burnet).  He  brought  similes  from  the  wide  domain 
of  his  reading,  of  nature,  and  of  life, — he  knew  not  only 
what  was  in  Scripture  but  what  was  in  man.  But  the  grand 
spring  of  his  life  was  peace.  He  may  very  well  be  called 
"Scotland's  Apostle  of  Peace!"  and  he  well  deserves  the 

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ARCHBISHOP  LEIGHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

eulogy  of  Professor  Flint  and  Principal  Tulloch,  that  "  he 
was  the  greatest  saint  Scotland  has  had  since  the  Reforma- 
tion." 

Here  is  a  description  of  this  wonderful  man  from  the 
pen  of  a  great  living  poet : — 

"  A  frail  slight  form,— no  temple  he, 
Grand,    for   abode   of   Deity  : 
Rather  a  bush,  inflamed  with  grace, 
And  trembling  in  a  desert-place; 
And  unconsum'd  with  fire, 
Tho'  burning  higher  and  higher. 

"  A  frail  slight  form,  and  pale  with  care, 
And  paler  from  the  raven  hair, 
That,  folded  from  a  forehead  free, 
Godlike,  of  breadth  and  majesty; — 
A  brow  of  thought  supreme 
And  mystic  glorious  dream  ! 

"  Beautiful  spirit !   fallen,  alas  ! 
On  times  when  little  beauty  was ; 
Still  seeking  peace  amidst  the  strife, 
Still   working,   weary  of  thy  life ; 
Toiling  in  holy  love, 
Panting  for  heaven  above. 

"  For  none  so  lone  on  earth  as  he 
Whose  way  of  thought  is  high  and  free, 
Beyond  the  mist,  beyond  the  cloud, 
Beyond  the  clamour  of  the  crowd ; 
Moving  where  Jesus  trod, 
In  the  lone  Walk  with  God  !" 

He  has  left  us,  in  a  note,  the  principle  of  his  ministerial 
life  here  :  —  "  The  Sunday's  sermon  lasts  but  an  hour  or 
two,  but  holiness  of  life  is  a  continued  sermon  all  the  week 
long."  "  I  had  as  lief  be  a  martyr  for  Love's  sake  as  for 
Truth's." 

During  the  last  few  years  of  his  ministry  here,  the  very 
strong  Covenanting  section  in  the  Church  of  Scotland, — who 
were  instigated  by  the  English  Puritans,  headed  by  Cromwell, 
— who  held  and  said  that  Presbytery  was  "  of  divine  right," 
and  that  Episcopacy  and  all  other  forms  of  Church  govern- 
ment were  of  the  devil,  devilish,  and  who,  to  illustrate  the 
strength  of  their  convictions,  beheaded  King  Charles, — this 
ultra- Presbyterian  party,  which  really  was  as  exclusive  and 
absurd  as  modern  Ultramontanism,  had  grown  the  dominant 
party,  and  had  over-ridden  the  more  moderate  and  sensible 
men,  who  held  with  Leighton  that  "  the  best  Church  govern- 
ment is  that  which  is  best  administered," — in  a  word,  the 
principle  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  to-day, — that  no  form 
L  (161) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

of  church  government  is  of  divine  right,  but  that  that  is  best 
and  most  divine  which  in  practice  is  found  to  be  most  work- 
able and  beneficial. 

Leighton  hated  the  narrowness  of  the  Puritans  on  the 
one  side,  and  on  the  other,  and  just  as  much,  the  intolerance 
of  the  Episcopalian  party.  He  held  that  both  forms  of  gov- 
ernment had  proved  themselves  good  and  useful,  but  he  denied 
point-blank  that  any  one  of  them  was  more  divine  than  the 
other.  God's  Spirit  would  not,  he  said,  be  dictated  to;  you 
cannot  say  to  it, — "  Flow  here,  but  do  not  flow  there  !"  As 
to  that  Spirit,  he  held  Christ's  doctrine  as  given  by  St.  John 
the  divine, — whom  he  so  much  resembled, — that  "  thou  canst 
not  tell  whence  it  cometh  or  whither  it  goeth  !" 

But  in  1653  the  English  Puritan  party  had  got  so  strong 
within  the  Church,  and  were  so  quickly  and  utterly  destroying 
all  our  grand  old  Scottish  traditions, — bringing  in  Cromwell's 
crude  off-hand  ideas  and  phantasies  as  to  doctrine  and  ritual, 
— that  Leighton  was  glad  to  retire  from  the  ministry  :  and  so 
he  left  Newbattle  in  that  year,  giving  as  a  reason  "  the  weak- 
ness of  his  voice  " ;  but  the  other  was  the  real  reason.  And  so 
he  was  appointed  Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
— a  post  which  he  held  for  eight  years. 

In  December,  1661,  Charles  II.  tried  to  force  Episcopacy 
on  Scotland,  and  sent  for  four  Scottish  ministers, — Sharp, 
Hamilton,  Fairfowl,  and  Leighton ;  and  these  having  gone 
up  to  London,  were  consecrated  bishops  for  the  northern  king- 
dom in  Westminster  Abbey.  The  conception  of  the  whole  thing 
was  bad,  and  the  execution  worse.  Principal  Robert  Leighton 
resigned  his  University  honours,  and  was  appointed  Bishop  of 
Dunblane.  While  he  never  objected  to  Episcopacy  in  itself, 
he  did  not  like  the  intolerance  of  his  co-bishops,  especially 
Sharp;  and  he  showed  unmistakable  signs  of  vacillation.  But 
he  remained  as  Bishop  of  Dunblane  for  ten  years,  doing 
splendid  service  for  Christianity,  and  still  continuing  to  act 
as  the  Apostle  of  Peace  to  poor,  troubled  Scotland.  The 
ancient  Cathedral  of  Dunblane  is  still  redolent  of  his  memory, 
and  the  "  good  Bishop's  walk  "  is  still  pointed  out  where,  on 
the  riverside,  he  continued  those  sublime  and  beautiful  medita- 
tions, begun  many  years  before  in  Newbattle.  His  Episcopal 
library  is  still  in  existence  in  Dunblane,  and  the  books  are 
all  covered  over,  as  I  have  seen,  with  his  notes  and  markings. 

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ARCHBISHOP  LEIGHTON  AND  HIS  NEW  BATTLE  LIBRARY. 

That  noble  Cathedral  was  restored  by  Mrs  Wallace  of  Glas- 
singal  and  by  the  public;  it  is  a  noble  monument  to  the 
man  who  is  its  greatest  memory  and  ornament :  its  restor- 
ation is  a  hopeful  augury  of  the  restoration  of  "  whatsoever 
things  are  peaceable"  in  the  Scottish  State- Ecclesiastic. 

From  Dunblane  he  was  translated  in  1671  to  Glasgow, 
where  he  was  made  Archbishop.  He  laboured  in  Glasgow 
as  the  highest  dignitary  of  the  Church, — along  with  the  Arch- 
bishop of  St.  Andrews, — for  three  years;  and  then,  in  1674, 
he  gave  up  his  charge  and  retired  into  private  life,  wishing 
to  end  his  days  in  peace  !  Though  he  had  in  all  states  kept 
a  soul  unruffled,  and  a  spirit  absolutely  untainted  with  malice 
or  bitterness  or  pride,  he  had  passed  through  a  troubled  age, — 
the  mad  .whirl  and  dim  confusion  of  ecclesiastical  strife, — 
which  is  the  worst  of  all,  the  Covenanting  struggle,  the  Epis- 
copal riots,  the  universal  unrest  and  bigotry  and  bitterness  of 
the  Scottish  dark  ages ;  and  his  one  remaining  desire  and 
modest  wish  was  that  "  at  eventide  there  might  be  light," — 
that  after  life's  long  day  of  storm  and  tempest,  the  sunset 
glories  might  appear  stretched  out  in  peace  and  calm  and  still- 
ness. He  left  Scotland  for  ever,  and  retired  to  the  home  of 
his  only  sister  at  Broadhurst,  in  Sussex,  where  he  passed  ten 
years  of  well-earned  repose,  looking  back  upon  a  life  of  aston- 
ishing vicissitudes,  and  amid  beautiful  natural  surroundings, 
which  must  have  reminded  him  very  much  of  his  earliest  pas- 
toral charge  on  the  oak-clad  banks  of  the  Esk. 

He  had  long  expressed  a  great  desire  that  he  should  end 
his  days  in  a  wayside  inn;  "  it  looked,"  he  said  often,  "  like 
a  pilgrim  going  home,  to  whom  this  world  was  all  as  an  inn, 
and  who  was  weary  of  the  noise  and  confusion  in  it ! "  He 
got  his  wish ;  for,  going  on  a  visit  to  London  in  June,  1684, 
alone,  he  suddenly  took  ill  by  night  in  the  Bell  Inn,  Warwick 
Lane,  and  died  during  his  sleep  on  the  night  of  the  25th. 

The  half-finished  dome  of  the  new  St.  Paul's  Cathedral, 
— built  by  a  tax  on  coal,  which  Leighton  would  associate 
with  his  old  parish,  rose  above  the  old  inn  from  which  his 
gentle  spirit  passed.  By  a  strange  and  many-sided  providence, 
he  was  born  and  consecrated  and  died  in  London,  which, 
as  he  himself  had  passed  through  fire  and  worry  and  harsh- 
ness, had  only  just  emerged  from  the  great  plague,  the  great 
fire,  and  the  great  frost. 

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THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

His  biographer  relates  the  circumstances  of  his  decease, 
which  are  very  pathetic.  "  He  often  used  to  say  that  if  he 
were  to  choose  a  place  to  die  in,  it  would  be  an  inn.  It  looked 
like  a  pilgrim  going  home,  to  whom  this  world  was  all  as  an 
inn,  and  who  was  weary  of  the  noise  and  confusion  in  it. 
He  added  that  the  officious  tenderness  and  care  of  friends 
was  an  entanglement  to  a  dying  man,  and  that  the  unconcerned 
attendance  of  those  that  could  be  procured  in  such  a  place 
would  give  less  disturbance.  And  he  obtained  what  he  desired, 
for  he  died  at  the  Bell  Inn  in  Warwick  Lane,  London."  An- 
other of  his  biographers  writes  : — "  Such  a  life,  we  may  easily 
persuade  ourselves,  must  make  the  thought  of  death  not  only 
tolerable,  but  desirable.  Accordingly  it  had  this  noble  effect 
on  him.  In  a  paper  left  under  his  own  hand  (since  lost)  he 
bespeaks  that  day  in  a  most  glorious  and  triumphant  manner ; 
his  expressions  seem  rapturous  and  ecstatic,  as  though  his 
wishes  and  desires  had  anticipated  the  real  and  solemn  cele- 
bration of  his  nuptials  with  the  Lamb  of  God.  He  sometimes 
expressed  his  desire  of  not  being  troublesome  to  his  friends  at 
his  death ;  and  God  gratified  to  the  full  his  modest,  humble 
desire,  for  he  died  at  an  inn  in  his  sleep.  So  kind  and  con- 
descending a  Master  do  we  serve,  who  not  only  enriches  the 
souls  of  His  faithful  servants  with  His  treasures,  but  often 
indulges  them  in  lesser  matters  and  giveth  to  His  beloved  even 
in  their  sleep." 

It  was  a  peaceful  ending  to  a  peaceful  life;  but  what 
was  the  peace  of  earth,  which  he  had  tried  so  hard  to  bring 
about,  or  even  the  peace  of  death,  which  comes  sooner  or  later 
to  hush  up  all  strifes  and  lay  low  all  combatants,  to  that 
peace  of  heaven  on  which  he  has  entered  long  long  ago, — "  the 
peace  which  passeth  all  understanding?" 

In  connection  with  the  residence  of  Leigh  ton  at  Broad- 
hurst,  the  accompanying  letter  from  the  present  rector  of 
Horsted  Keynes,  where  the  good  Bishop  lies  buried,  is  inter- 
esting : — 

"  Horsted  Keynes  Rectory, 

"  East  Gr instead. 

"  I  write  on  behalf  of  my  father  to  enclose  the  inscription  on 
the  outside  wall  of  our  church,  as  also  the  inscription  on  the  modern 
tomb  erected  in  the  churchyard.  I  believe  Archbishop  Leighton's 
remains  were  originally  inside  the  church,  but  the  church  was  altered, 
and  then,  I  suppose,  the  inscription  was  inserted  in  the  outer  wall 
as  now  to  be  seen.  There  is  a  curious  old  farmhouse  about  one  mile 
from  the  church  where  the  Archbishop  spent  the  last  ten  years  of  his 

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ARCHBISHOP  LEIGHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

life  with  his  sister,  Mrs  Lightmaker,  and  it  is  said  he  preached  his 
last  sermon  in  our  church,  but  I  don't  think  the  original  pulpit  exists. 
He  died  at  an  inn  in  London,  though  he  left  Horsted  Keynes  in  his 
usual  health,  I  believe ;  but,  as  perhaps  you  know  from  his  life,  he 
had  always  wished  to  die  at  an  inn.  He  laid  great  stress  on  regular 
attendance  at  church,  especially  if  wet,  for  fear  he  might  seem  to 
countenance  the  habit  of  letting  trifles  hinder  attendance  at  God's 
house.  We  have  the  diary  of  Giles  Moore,  rector  here  at  the  time, 
but  he  does  not  mention  the  Archbishop  ! 

"  H.  L.  RODWELL. 

The  following  are  the  inscriptions  on  the  ancient  monument 

beneath  the  crest  : — 

De-positum 

ROBERTI  LEIGHTOVNI 

Archiepiscofi  glasguensis 

A-pud  scotas 

Qui  obiit  xxv.;  die  Junij 

Anno  dmj  1684 

Etatis  suce  74. 

On  the  modern  monument  are  these  words  : — "  Here  rest 
the  remains  of  Robert  Leighton,  Bishop  of  Dunblane,  after- 
wards Archbishop  of  Glasgow.  In  an  age  of  religious  strife  he 
adorned  the  doctrine  of  God  his  Saviour  by  a  holy  life,  and  by 
the  meek  and  loving  spirit  which  breathes  throughout  his  writ- 
ings. He  spent  in  this  parish  the  latter  years  of  his  life  in 
devout  preparation  for  his  heavenly  rest.  Born  1611,  died 
1684.  This  memorial  was  placed  here  1857." 

Some  years  ago  the  writer  paid  a  visit  to  the  Bell  Inn, 
Warwick  Lane,  London,  where  Robert  Leighton  died,  and  had 
an  interesting  conversation  with  the  tenant  of  No.  35  Warwick 
Lane,  which  is  next  door  to  the  old  "Bell," — now  pulled  down. 
He  was  a  Perthshire  man,  past  the  prime  of  life,  and  seemed 
to  cherish  very  warmly  the  memory  of  the  great  Scotsman  who 
died  in  so  affecting  a  manner  just  at  his  door  two  hundred  years 
ago.  In  Hare's  "Walks  about  London,"  the  old  "Bell"  is  re- 
ferred to,  and  its  connection  with  Leighton.  "  There  is  still/' 
wrote  the  Rev.  Dr  Stoughton,  the  famous  preacher,  some  years 
ago,  ' '  in  the  narrow  thoroughfare  called  Warwick  Lane,  return- 
ing out  of  Newgate  Street,  an  old  inn  bearing  the  sign  of  '  The 
Bell.'  The  writer  never  passes  it  without  thinking  of  Leigh- 
ton;  for  there  he  died."  It  was  with  a  strange  feeling  that  I 
stood  on  the  very  spot  where  he  breathed  his  last,  hundreds 
of  miles  away  from  his  quiet  pastorate  on  the  banks  of  the 
Esk.  Mr  Murray,  who  keeps  a  baker's  shop  in  that  narrow 
wynd,  gave  me  a  number  of  very  interesting  particulars.  The 

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THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

"Bell  Inn"  was,  in  1851,  when  he  knew  it  first,  exactly  as 
it  had  been  since  the  sixteenth  century ;  in  this  state  it  remained 
till  1878,  when  it  was  pulled  down.  A  massive  gateway  led 
from  Warwick  Lane,  under  the  shadow  of  St.  Paul's  Cathe- 
dral, and  opposite  "  Amen  Court," — the  time-honoured  resi- 
dence of  the  canons  and  clergy  of  St.  Paul's, — into  a  court 
where  the  "  Bell  "  stood,  with  its  quaint  old  sign.  It  was 
surrounded  by  the  booths  of  butchers,  and  Mr  Murray  and 
several  other  inhabitants  of  the  place  with  whom  I  conversed, 
remember  seeing  joints  of  meat  hanging  in  great  quantities  all 
round  it.  It  was  for  several  centuries  the  great  inn  for  car- 
riers from  the  country,  and  for  country  people  generally ;  and 
hence  Leighton,  coming  up  from  Broadhurst  in  Sussex,  put 
up  there,  partly  because  it  was  the  great  country  people's  inn, 
and  partly  because  it  was  within  the  precincts  of  the  Cathedral, 
and  near  the  ecclesiastical  residences.  The  rooms  of  the  inn 
were  very  small  and  exceedingly  dark;  the  staircases  were  very 
wide,  and  had  thick  wooden  banisters;  there  were  large  bal- 
conies outside.  When  Leighton  visited  London  the  present 
Cathedral  of  St.  Paul's  was  just  building,  and  he  had  only 
to  go  to  the  end  of  the  alley  to  see  the  sheds  and  blocks 
and  rubbish,  and  the  half-built  dome.  The  old  people  in  the 
neighbourhood  still  cherish  the  associations  of  the  great  Scottish 
divine  whose  spirit  passed  away  from  out  of  the  midst  of 
the  tumult  and  bustle  of  busy  London  into  the  calm  and  still- 
ness of  the  heavenly  rest.  "  I  endeavoured,"  Mr  Murray 
writes  me,  "  to  find  out  which  room  he  died  in,  but  it  is 
not  known."  The  site  of  the  inn  is  now  a  spacious  yard  for 
lorries  and  vans.  Mr  Murray  appends  to  these  interesting 
details  a  verse  from  the  poet  Shenstone,  which  was  suggested 
to  his  mind,  and  which  is  scratched  on  a  pane  of  glass  in 
the  old  Red  Lion  Inn  at  Henley, — a  sentiment  beautifully 
enlarged  upon  by  Washington  Irving : — 

"  Whoe'er  has  travelled  life's  dull  round, 

Where'er  his  wanderings  may  have  been, 
Will  sigh  to  think  he  still  has  found 
His  warmest  welcome  at  an  inn." 

Many  incidents  are  still  floating  regarding  Leighton's  life 
and  ministry  at  Newbattle.  When  charged  by  the  Dalkeith 
Presbytery  with  not  "  preaching  to  the  times "  (meaning 
"  preaching  controversy  "),  he  replied  that  "  when  so  many 
were  busy  preaching  to  the  times,  surely  one  poor  brother  might 

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ARCHBISHOP  LEIGHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

be  allowed  to  preach  for  eternity."  In  the  old  days,  travellers 
passing  by  night  through  "  the  Path," — the  glen  reaching  up 
from  Newbattle  village  to  Newtongrange, — always  stopped  in 
the  middle  of  the  darkness  and  repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
probably  a  remnant  of  Leighton's  influence  and  practice.  Two 
instances  of  his  dry  humour  may  be  given.  When  Bishop  of 
Dunblane,  a  lady  called  upon  him,  and,  with  great  earnest- 
ness, said  she  had  a  special  message  to  deliver  to  him,  and 
declared  that  in  a  vision  she  had  seen  him  pointed  out  as  her 
future  husband.  The  pale  little  prelate,  whom  nature  de- 
signed to  be  what  the  Highland  divinity  student  called  "  a 
chalybeate,"  was  rather  taken  aback  at  the  "  too  suddenness  " 
of  the  revelation.  Very  shortly  after,  however,  he  regained 
composure,  and  said  that,  after  giving  the  matter  prayerful 
consideration,  he  thought  that  their  best  plan  was  unitedly 
to  wait  until  a  similar  vision  had  been  vouchsafed  to  him. 
The  angel,  however,  seemed  to  tarry  in  making  the  second 
revelation,  and  Leighton  lived  and  died  a  mere  man  and  a 
storm-tossed  bachelor. 

When  Colt  was  minister  of  Inveresk  he  complained  to 
Leighton  of  his  heavy  charge,  and  jokingly  added  that  to  the 
minister  of  Newbattle  it  would  be  a  "  light  Jun."  The  motto 
of  the  family  was  "  Light  on,"  and  the  emblem  a  blazing 
torch.  It  was  curious  that  he  should  have  been  the  minister 
and  close  friend  of  the  Earl  of  Lothian,  whose  crest  was  "  the 
rising  sun." 

After  his  retirement  to  Sussex, — sick  of  the  controversies 
and  persecutions  which  were  then  making  Scotland  a  veritable 
battlefield, — he  lived  with  his  sister  at  Broadhurst,  and  made 
it  his  duty  to  attend  the  Parish  Church  regularly,  especially 
on  wet  days,  as  an  example.  The  diary  of  the  rector,  Mr 
Giles,  is  still  extant,  but  contains  no  reference  to  Leighton, 
who  is  buried  inside  the  Parish  Church  of  Horsted  Keynes, 
two  monuments  recording  the  fact.  His  sister  was  a  Martha 
in  Israel,  and  had  a  large  family.  On  one  occasion,  losing 
patience  with  her  peaceful  and  meditative  brother,  she  rather 
warmly  twitted  him  on  being  a  bachelor,  and  that  it  was  easy 
to  be  holy  and  saintly  with  no  family  cares ;  to  which  jibe  the 
good  man  calmly  replied  that  it  was  quite  the  reverse,  for  in 
Genesis  v.,  22,  it  is  recorded  that  "  Enoch  walked  with  God 
and  begat  sons  and  daughters," — a  reply  which  i^ut  the  saddle 
on  the  other  horse. 

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THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

On  one  occasion  at  Dunblane,  his  man-servant  left  early 
in  the  morning  for  a  day's  fishing  in  the  Allan  Water,  and 
locked  his  master  in  the  house.  On  his  return,  all  that  the 
peaceable  prelate  could  bring  himself  to  say  was, — "  John, 
when  you  next  go  a-fishing,  remember  to  leave  the  key  in  the 
door." 

Leighton's  doctrine  may  be  summed  up  in  his  own 

"  SHORT  CATECHISM." 

SECTION  I. 

Question  i.    What  is  naturally  man's  chief  desire? 

Answer.     To  be  happy. 

Q.  2.     Which  is  the  way  to  true  happiness? 

A.     True  Religion. 

Q.  3.     What  is  true  religion? 

A.  The  true  and  lively  knowledge  of  the  only  true  God,  and  of 
him  whom  he  hath  sent,  Jesus  Christ. 

Q.  4.     Whence  is  this  knowledge  to  be  learned? 

A.  All  the  works  of  God  declare  his  being  and  his  glory;  but 
clearer  knowledge  of  himself  and  of  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  is  to  be 
learned  from  his  own  word,  contained  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament. 

Q.  5.     What  do  those  Scriptures  teach  us  concerning  God? 

A.  That  he  is  one  infinite,  eternal  Spirit,  most  wise  and  holy,  and 
just  and  merciful,  and  the  all  powerful  Maker  and  Ruler  of  the  world. 

Q.  6.     What  do  they  further  teach  us  concerning  God? 

A.  That  he  is  three  in  one,  and  one  in  three,  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Q.  7.  What  will  that  lively  knowledge  of  God  effectually  work 
in  us? 

A.  It  will  cause  us  to  believe  in  him,  and  to  love  him  above  all 
things,  even  above  ourselves ;  to  adore  and  worship  him,  to  pray  to 
him,  and  to  praise  him  and  exalt  him  with  all  our  might,  and  to  yield 
up  ourselves  to  the  obedience  of  his  commandments,  as  having  both 
made  us,  and  made  himself  known  to  us  for  that  very  end. 

Q.  8.    Rehearse  then  the  articles  of  our  belief. 

THE  APOSTLES'  CREED. 

Q.  9.  Rehearse  the  ten  commandments  of  the  law,  which  are  the 
rule  of  our  obedience,  and  so  the  trial  of  our  love. 

Q.  10.  What  is  the  summary  our  Saviour  hath  given  us  of  this 
law? 

A.  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbour  as  thy- 
self. 

Q.  ii.  What  is  the  effectual  means  of  obtaining  increase  of  faith 
and  power  to  obey,  and  generally  all  graces  and  blessings  at  the  hand 
of  God  ? 

A.     Prayer. 

Q.  12.  Rehearse  that  most  excellent  and  perfect  prayer  that  our 
Saviour  hath  taught  us. 

SECTION  II. 

(?.  13.     In  what  estate  was  man  created? 

A.     After  the  image  of  God,  in  holiness  and  righteousness. 

Q.  14.     Did  he  continue  in  that  estate? 

A.  No;  but  by  breaking  the  commandment  which  his  Maker 
gave  him,  eating  of  the  fruit  of  that  tree  which  was  forbidden  him, 
he  made  himself  and  his  whole  posterity  subject  to  sin  and  death. 

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ARCHBISHOP  LE1GHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

Q.  15.  Hath  God  left  man  in  this  misery  without  all  means  and 
hopes  of  recovery? 

A.  No ;  for  "  he  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life." 

Q.  1 6.     What  then  is  the  great  doctrine  of  the  Gospel? 

A.  That  same  coming  of  the  Son  of  God  in  the  flesh,  and  giving 
himself  to  the  death  of  the  cross  to  take  away  the  sin  of  the  world, 
and  his  rising  again  from  the  dead,  and  ascending  into  glory. 

Q.  17.  What  doth  that  Gospel  mainly  teach  and  really  persuade 
all  the  followers  of  it  to  do? 

A.  It  teacheth  them  to  deny  "ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts, 
and  to  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present  world." 

Q.  18.  How  hath  our  Lord  Jesus  himself  expressed  the  great 
and  necessary  duty  of  all  his  disciples? 

A.  That  they  deny  themselves,  and  take  up  their  cross  and  follow 
him. 

Q.  19.  Rehearse  then  some  of  the  chief  points  wherein  we  are 
to  follow  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ? 

A.  I. — To  surrender  ourselves  wholly  to  our  heavenly  Father,  and 
his  good  pleasure  in  all  things,  even  in  the  sharpest  afflictions  and 
sufferings,  and  not  at  all  to  do  our  own  will,  or  design  our  own  praise 
and  advantage,  but  in  all  things  to  do  his  will,  and  intend  his  glory. 

II. — To  be  spotless,  and  chaste  and  holy  in  our  whole  conversation. 

III. — To  be  meek  and  lowly,  not  to  slander  or  reproach,  to  mock 
or  despise  any ;  and  if  any  do  so  to  us,  to  bear  it  patiently,  yea,  to 
rejoice  in  it. 

IV. — Unfeignedly  to  love  our  Christian  brethren,  and  to  be  char- 
itably and  kindly  affected  toward  all  men,  even  to  our  enemies,  for- 
giving them,  yea,  and  praying  for  them,  and  returning  them  good  for 
evil ;  to  comfort  the  afflicted,  and  relieve  the  poor,  and  to  do  good  to 
all  as  we  are  able. 

Q.  20.  Is  it  necessary  that  all  Christians  live  according  to  these 
rules  ? 

A.  So  absolutely  necessary  that  they  who  do  not  in  some  good 
measure,  whatsoever  they  profess,  do  not  really  believe  in  Jesus  Christ, 
nor  have  any  portion  in  him. 

SECTION  III. 

Q.  21.  What  visible  seals  hath  our  Saviour  annexed  to  that 
Gospel,  to  confirm  our  faith,  and  to  convey  the  grace  of  it  to  us? 

A.  The  two  sacraments  of  the  New  Testament — Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper. 

Q.  22.    What  doth  baptism  signify  and  seal? 

A.     Our  washing  from  sin,  and  our  new  birth  in  Jesus  Christ. 

Q.  23.     What  doth  the  Lord's  Supper  signify  and  seal? 

A.  Our  spiritual  nourishment  and  growth  in  him,  and  trans- 
forming us  more  and  more  into  his  likeness,  by  commemorating  his 
death,  and  feeding  on  his  body  and  blood  under  the  figures  of  bread 
and  wine. 

Q.  24.  What  is  required  to  make  fit  and  worthy  communicants  of 
the  Lord's  Supper? 

A.  Faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  repentance  towards  God, 
and  charity  towards  all  men. 

Q.  25.     What  is  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus? 

A.  It  is  the  grace  by  which  we  both  believe  his  whole  doctrine,, 
and  trust  in  him  as  the  Redeemer  and  Saviour  of  the  world,  and 
entirely  deliver  up  ourselves  to  him,  to  be  taught  and  ruled  by  him 
as  our  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King 

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THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Q.  26.     What  is  repentance? 

A.  It  is  a  godly  sorrow  for  sin,  and  a  hearty  and  real  turning 
from  all  sin  unto  God. 

Q.  27.  What  is  the  final  portion  of  unbelieving  and  unrepentant 
sinners  ? 

A.     The  everlasting  torment  of  devils. 

Q.  28.  What  is  the  final  portion  of  them  that  truly  repent  and 
believe,  and  obey  the  gospel? 

A.     The  blessed  life  of  angels,  in  the  vision  of  God  for  ever. 

A   QUESTION   FOR   YOUNG    PERSONS   BEFORE   THEIR   FIRST   ADMISSION   TO 
THE   LORD'S    SUPPER. 

Q.  Whereas  you  were  in  your  infancy  baptised  into  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  do  you  now,  upon  distinct  knowledge,  and  with  firm  and 
pious  affection,  own  that  Christian  faith  of  which  you  have  given  an 
account,  and  withal  your  baptismal  vow  of  renouncing  the  service  of 
Satan,  and  the  world,  and  the  lusts  of  the  fiesh,  and  of  devoting  your- 
self to  God  in  all  holiness  of  life? 

A.  I  do  sincerely  and  heartily  declare  my  belief  of  that  faith, 
and  own  my  engagement  to  that  holy  vow,  and  resolve,  by  the  assist- 
ance of  God's  grace,  to  continue  in  the  careful  observance  of  it  all 
my  days. 

Rather  than  dwell  on  the  details  of  Leighton's  Newbattle 
life,  I  purpose  to  quote  the  various  references  in  the  Pres- 
bytery, Synod,  and  Kirk-Session  books  to  his  ministry. 

I. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  PRESBYTERY  BOOKS  OF 
DALKEITH. 

1639. 

The  National  Covenant  signed  in  August  1639  by  Mr  Andrew 
Cant,  Newbottle,  and  other  ministers  in  the  Presbytery  of  Dalkeith, 
by  the  Earls  of  Lothian  and  Dalhousie,  Thomas  Megot  of  Maisterton, 
and  other  ruling  Elders  and  several  Expectants,  in  all  about  100  per- 
sons, is  preserved  in  the  volume  of  Records,  1639-1652. 

1639,  Oct.  10. — Mr  Andrew  Cant  (and  others  absent),  are  excused, 
being  appointed  by  the  Synode  to  attend  with  the  rest  of  the  brether 
in  Edinburgh  during  the  Parliament. 

1640. 

Dec.  3. — Quhilk  day  the  Presbyterie  of  Aberdeen  sent  be  Mr 
William  More  ane  letter  desyring  the  bretheren  to  dimit  freelie  Mr 
Androw  Cant  to  the  vacant  kirk  of  Aberdein,  conform  to  the  act  of 
transport  given  by  the  late  General  Assemblie  holden  theire ;  to  the 
quhilk  the  brether  returned  thair  an^uer  and  mynd  be  theire  missive 
letter  sealed,  and  given  in  the  said  Mr  William' his  hands. 

Dec.  17. — Quhilk  day  Mr  Androw  Cant  exhibit  ane  letter  written 
from  the  Armie  desyring  him  to  returne,  quha  requested  the  brether 
to  supplie  his  place  during  his  absence.  They  ordane  the  catalogue 
of  the  bretheren  to  goe  on,  and  begin  whair  it  left. 

1641. 

March  25. — This  day  Mr  Andro  Cant  having  returned  from  the 
Armie,  thanked  the  Brether  hartilie  for  suppleing  his  kirk  in  his 
absence,  and  desyred  thaine  to  continnew  till  his  returne  from  Aber- 
dein ;  quhilk  they  accorded  to. 


ARCHBISHOP  LE1GHTON  AND  HIS  NEW  BATTLE  LIBRARY. 

June  17. — The  Earle  of  Lauthian  desyred  the  Presbyterie  by  letter 
to  supplie  the  kirk  of  Newbotle  for  two  or  thrie  Sondayes ;  quhilk  suit 
was  granted. 

July  15. — Mr  Robert  Lichtone  appointed  to  adde,  and  to  bring  a 
testimoniall  from  Edinburgh  the  nixt  day. 

July  22. — Exercised  Mr  James  Porteous  younger,  and  Mr  Robert 
Lichtone.  Rom.  ii.,  i,  2,  3.  They  approvin. 

Mr  Robert  Lichtone  produced  a  testimoniall  from  the  Presbyterie 
of  Edinburgh. 

July  29. — Exercised  Mr  Robert  Lichtone  and  Mr  R.  Cowper. 
Rom.  ii.  4.  Doctrine  approvin. 

Mr  Robert  Lichtone  appointed  to  preach  at  Newbotle. 

Aug.  5. — Reported  Mr  Robert  Lichtone,  that  he  had  preached  at 
Newbotle. 

Sept.  23. — [Mark  Cass  or  Carss]  Cokpene  produced,  in  name  of  the 
Erie  of  Lauthian,  a  presentation  to  Newbotle  in  favours  of  Mr  ROBERT 
LICHTONE.  Mr  Robert  Lichtone  appointed  to  preach  the  next  day. 
Math.  xxv.  i,  2. 

Se-pt.  30. — Preached  Mr  Robert  Lichtone,  Math.  xxv.  i,  2,  and 
approvin.  He  ordained  to  have  the  common  heid  De  profagatione 
Peccati. 

Oct.  28. — Mr  Robert  Lichtone  had  the  common  heid  De  •profa- 
gatione  Peccati,  and  approvin.  Ordained  to  susteine  disputes  the 
next  day. 

Nov.  n. — Mr  Robert  Lichtone  susteined  disputes,  and  approvin. 
This  day  fyfteine  dayes  appointed  the  last  dyet  for  his  farther  tryall. 

Nov.  25. — Mr  Robert  Lichtone  tryed  in  the  languages,  chronologic, 
and  difficult  places  of  Scripture.  Approvin. 

Ordains  ane  edict  to  be  served  for  Mr  Robert  Leightone  at  the 
kirk  of  Neubotle  on  Sonday  nixt. 

Dec.  2. — Reported  Mr  Robert  Lichtone  that  his  edict  was  served, 
and  returned  it  indorsed.  Compered  the  parochiners  of  Newbotle, 
and  testified  their  accepting  Mr  Robert  Lichtone  to  be  their  minister. 

Ordains  a  second  edict  to  be  served. 

Dec.  9. — Returned  Mr  Robert  Lichtone  his  second  edict  indorsed. 
Compered  the  parochiners  of  Neubotle,  and  accepted. 

Ordains  the  last  edict  to  be  served  on  Sonday  next. 

The  next  Thursday  appointed   for   his  admissione. 

Mr  Hew  Campbell  appointed  to  preach  in  Newbotle  on  Sonday 
next,  and  the  moderator  (Mr  Jhone  Knox)  at  Mr  Robert's  admissione. 
Ordains  the  clerk  to  write  to  Edinburgh  and  Hadintone  for  their  con- 
currence to  the  said  actione. 
Dec.  16. — At  Newbotle. 

Quhilk  day  (being  appointed  for  the  admission  of  Mr  Robert 
Lichtone)  preached  Mr  Jhone  Knox,  Heb.  xiii.  17.  Commissioners 
from  Edinburgh,  Mr  Robert  Dowglas,  Mr  Archbald  Neutone ;  from 
Hadentone,  Mr  Robert  Ker,  Mr  Wil.  Trent. 

Quhilk  day,  after  sermon,  Mr  Johne  Knox  posed  the  said  Mr 
Robert  Lichtone  and  the  parochiners  of  Newbotle  with  sundry  ques- 
tions competent  to  the  occasion.  Mr  Robert,  with  imposition  of  hands 
and  solemn  prayers,  wes  admitted  Minister  at  Newbotle. 

Dec.  30. — Quhilk  day,  the  brethren  subscryvit  Mr  Robert  Lich- 
tone's  collatione  and  took  his  oath  of  alledgiance,  and  that  he  hath 
maid  no  privat  pactione  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Kirk. 

1642. 

(Leighton  often  absent  this  year.) 

June  30. — Lichton  was  one  of  the  Commissioners  to  the  General 
Assembly.  In  his  turn,  he  made  the  usual  exercise  and  addition 
before  the  Presbytery,  on  July  7  and  14,  on  Rom.  vi.  i,  4. 

Oct.  6. — He  and  other  two  members  ordained  to  speak  to  the  Earl 
of  Louthian  about  one  James  Ramsay,  guilty  of  murther. 

(170 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

The  quhilk  day,  Mr  Robert  Lighten  gave  advertisement  to  the 
brethren  that  the  Commissioners  of  the  Generall  Assembly  was  to  meet 
the  1 8th  of  October. 

1643. 

Feb.  2.  —  Exercised  Mr  Robert  Lichtoun,  Rom.  viii.  12,  and 
approvin. 

Feb.  9. — Becaus  Mr  Rot.  Lichton  was  seik,  appoynts  Mr  William 
Thomson  to  adde. 

Feb.  29. — Mr  Robert  Lichtone  ^being  present)  ordained  to  give 
James  Ramsay  the  first  admonition  out  of  pulpit,  according  to  the 
Book  of  Discipline. 

March  g.  —  Long  minute  about  James  Ramsay  of  Southsyde, 
charged  with  the  murther  of  William  Otterburne.  Reported  Mr 
Robert  Lichtone  that  he  had  given  the  first  admonition  out  of  pulpit. 

March  16  and  June  i. — Mr  Robert  Lighten  absent. 

July  20. — (He  being  present)  Annabell  Hall  in  Carrington  con- 
fessed that  siie  had  made  a  covenant  with  the  Divell,  and  had  received 
his  mark  and  his  name,  and  ratified  whatsoever  she  had  confessed  to 
he/  own  minister,  in  presence  of  the  brethren ;  whose  confession  the 
biethren  subscyved,  that  it  might  be  presented  to  the  Counsell. 

July  27. — Helen  Ingliss  in  Carrington  does  the  same. 

Sept.  7  and  14. — Exercised  Mr  Robert  Lighten.  Rom.  ix.  19-23. 
Approvin. 

1644. 

Feb.  8,  29,  March  7  and  28. — Mr  Robert  Lichton  one  of  those  ab- 
sent. On  the  7th  of  March  he  had  been  ordered  to  supply  Lasswade. 

April  4. — Patrik  Eleaz  (Elice)  of  Plewlands  gave  in  a  bill  to  the 
brethren,  wherein  he  desired  them  earnestlie  to  put  him  in  possession 
of  that  seat  in  Newbotle  Church  quhilk  belonged  to  the  lands  of  Easter 
Southsyde,  the  quhilk  lands  he  had  now  purchased.  But  because  Mr 
Robert  Lighten,  the  minister  of  the  parish,  was  not  present,  the 
brethren  would  doe  nothing  in  this  businesse  till  Mr  Robert  was  pre- 
sent. 

April  n. — Patrik  Eleaz  and  Alexander  Lawsone  wer  desyred  to 
be  heir  this  day  eight  days  to  heare  it  decerned  who  had  best  right 
to  the  seate  in  Newbottle  Church  now  in  question. 

April  1 8. — Reported  Mr  Oliver  Colt,  that  the  Commissioners  of 
the  General  Assembly  ordained  that  we  should  gee  on  in  the  processe 
against  James  Ramsay,  manslayer,  and  cause  summons  him  at  the 
Corse  oi  Edenbrugh  and  peire  of  Leith,  to  compeir  before  us  and 
answer  his  murther  within  threescor  dayes. 

June  6  and  13. — Exercised  Mr  Robert  Lichton,  Rom.  xi.  26-32. 

July  18. — Reported  Mr  Robert  Lightone  that  he  had  preached  in 
Pennicooke. 

Aug.  i. — Compeired  James  Gibsone,  of  the  parishe  of  Neubottle, 
supplicating  theyr  helpe  in  respect  of  the  burning  of  his  house.  Refers 
him  to  the  several  kirks. 

Aug.  22. — Mr  Robert  Lightone  appointed  to  preach  in  Edinburgh 
at  the  Synode. 

Sept.  5. — Reported  the  Commissioners  that  the  Committee  of  the 
General  Assemblie  advysed  them  to  continue  all  farther  processing  of 
James  Ramsay  till  it  be  instructed  that  he  is  living.  Mr  Robert 
Lightone  appointed  to  acquaint  the  partie  perseuar  to  use  diligence 
herein. 

Sept.  12. — No  exercise  this  day  because  of  Mr  Robert  Lighton's 
seiknes,  who  should  have  had  the  common  heid. 

Sept.  26. — Mr  Robert  Lighten  had  the  common  heid,  De  Christi 
Descensu. 

Dec.  19. — No  addition  becaus  of  Mr  Robert  Lighton's  sickness, 
Mr  Robert  Carson  ordered  to  mak,  and  Mr  Robert  Lighten  to  adde, 
if  health  permit. 

(172) 


ARCHBISHOP  LEIGHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

1645. 

Jan  2  and  16. — Exercised  Mr  Robert  Lighten.     Rom.  xiii.  5-9. 

Jan.  16. — Quhilk  day,  was  presented  ane  Catalogue  of  books  given 
by  William,  Erie  of  Lauthian,  to  be  ane  begining  of  a  librarie  to 
belong  in  all  tyme  comeing  to  the  paroche  kirk  of  Newbottle  for  the 
use  of  the  Minister;  which  the  Brethren  thankfullie  accepts  for  a 
good  work  and  good  example  to  uthers,  and  heartilie  thanks  his  Lord- 
ship. 

July  17. — Mr  Robert  Lightoun  appointed  to  adde. 

Oct.  2  and  9. — Exercised  Mr  Robert  Lichtoun.  Rom.  xv.  12-14. 
Approvin. 

1646. 

Feb.  19. — Exercised  Mr  Robert  Lichton.  Rom.  xvi.  20,  21.  Ap- 
provin. 

Feb.  26. — Exercised  Mr  Robert  Lichton.  Rom.  xvi.  23,  24,  25. 
Approvin. 

May  29. — Mr  Robert  Cowper,  minister  of  Temple,  being  accused 
of  excessive  drinking  :  the  brethren  and  ruling  elders  were  severally 
desyret  to  informe  themselves  the  best  way  they  cane  quhairin  Mr 
Robert  has  miscariet  himself  in  his  calling  and  conversation.  "  Mr 
Robert  Lichtoun  declared  that  ther  was  an  surmise  of  his  scandalous 
drinking  in  the  Stobhill  upon  an  certain  day.  The  brether  desyret 
Mr  Robert  Lichton  to  try  the  verity  thereof,  and  report  the  next  day." 

June  18. — Mr  Robert  Lichton  appoynted  to  go  ther  (to  Ormiston) 
the  next  day. 

June  24. — Reported  Mr  Robert  Lichton  he  had  preached  at  Or- 
miston. 

As  for  Mr  Robert  Lichton,  to  whom  was  recomendit  the  tryell  of 
(Mr  Robert  Cowper)  his  drinking  in  Stobhill,  reported,  that  he  was 
informet  that  on  an  certaine  day  he  wes  drinking  in  ane  Simeon  Wil- 
son's in  the  Stobhill. 

July  2. — Mr  Robert  Cowper  objects  to  Sir  James  Dundas  sitting 
as  a  judge.  The  most  of  the  brethren  thought  he  should  not  sit. 
"  Wherewith  he  not  being  well  pleaset,  the  brether  sent  forth  Mr 
Oliver  Colt  and  Mr  Robert  Lichton  to  deill  with  him,  and  requeist 
that  he  would  not  sit  as  an  judge  in  that  busines ;  quhilk  when  he 
refuset,  they  desyret  (he  being  callet  in)  that  he  would  giv  his  oath 
that  in  his  cariag  in  this  particular  he  wes  free  of  malice  and  splen, 
and  had  nothing  before  his  eye  bot  the  glory  of  God." 

July  16. — The  said  day  Mr  Robert  Lichton  informet  the  bretherin, 
that  ther  wes  an  who  informet  him  that  ther  wes  an  William  Hoge 
and  his  wyf  in  Laswad,  who  would  witnes  against  Mr  Robert  Cowper 
that  he  wes  drunk,  if  they  should  be  callit  thereto. 

[These  extracts  refer  to  a  long  trial  of  Mr  Robert  Cowper,  who 
is  accused  by  Sir  James  Dundas  of  Arnoldston  (Arniston)  of  excessive 
drinking.  The  depositions  of  the  various  witnesses  are  recorded,  and 
Cowper  is  finally  acquitted ;  but  having,  on  his  acquittal,  broken  out 
into  a  violent  invective  against  Sir  James  Dundas,  he  is  suspended.] 

August  20  and  27. — Exercised  Mr  Ro.  Lichton,  i  Cor.  iii.   1-4. 

Oct.  i. — In  a  dispute  about  the  settlement  of  Borthwick,  and  the 
presentation  in  favour  of  Mr  Alexander  Wedderburn,  between  the 
heritors  and  presbytery,  each  party,  "after  long  debate  and  confer- 
ence, nominate  three  candidates,  viz.,  Mr  Robert  Lichton,  Mr  John 
Stirling,  Mr  Alexander  Wedderburne  for  the  heritors  of  Borthwick, 
Mr  Alexander  Verner,  Mr  David  Lidle  (Liddell),  Mr  William  Clyd, 
were  nominate  by  the  presbitery."  On  the  i5th  Wedderburn  de- 
clined. 

Oct.  15. — Mr  Robert  Couper  "most  humbly  did  supplicate  the 
brethren  of  the  pressbitery  that  he  should  be  relaxit  at  this  time  from 
his  suspension." — It  was  the  mynd  of  the  wholl  members  of  the  pres- 
bitery and  commissioners  (from  Edinburgh  and  Haddington,  who  had 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

been  summoned  to  advise  and  assent)  except  Mr  Robert  Lichton  and 
the  Laird  of  Arnolston,  he  be  presently  relaxet  upon  the  humble  ac- 
knowledgment of  his  offence  (against)  God  and  his  brethren,  and 
purging  himself  of  all  malice  against  the  Lard  of  Arnolston.  Quher- 
upon  Mr  Robert  Lichton  and  Arnoldston  desyret  their  voyces  should 
be  market  as  disassenters,  in  respect  they  thought  it  should  be  referret 
to  the  judgment  of  the  Synode. 

1647; 

Ormiston,  Jan.  14. — The  said  day  ther  was  an  act  of  the  com- 
mission producet  be  the  clerk,  ordaining  Mr  James  Robertson  and 
Mr  Robert  Lichtoun  to  preach  to  the  Parliament  the  24  of  Januar, 
and  Mr  Oliver  Colt  and  Patrick  Sibbald  to  preach  the  last  of  the 
said  month ;  quhilk  they  promisset  to  obey. 

Feb.  25. — Exercised  Mr  Robert  Carson,  i  Cor.  vi.  12,  13,  &c.,  and 
wes  approvin.  There  wes  no  addition,  because  Mr  Robert  Lighten 
wes  sent  for  by  his  Father,  who  was  lying  sick  at  Londoun. 

22  A-pril. — The  said  day  Mr  James  Fairly,  moderator,  delaitit  one 
named  Stephen  Askine,  who  wes  a  known  malignant,  and  wes  in 
actuall  service  with  James  Graham,  and  had  purchaset  an  testimoniall 
from  the  schollmaster  of  Newbotle,  declaring  that  he  wes  an  honest 
man,  and  that  ther  wes  no  blemish  found  in  his  conversation  except 
that  he  had  been  with  James  Graham,  for  which  he  had  satisfiet  the 
kirk-session  of  Newbotle,  and  was  absolvet  this  last  Sabboth  be  Mr 
John  Sinclair,  who  preachit  ther  for  Mr  Robert  Lichton. 

May  13. — Forasmuch  as  Mr  James  Aird  was  not  lawfully  sum- 
monded  for  giving  a  testimonial  to  Steven  Askine,  who  was  received 
for  his  complying  with  the  rebels  in  the  Church  of  Newbatle,  con- 
trary to  the  Acts  of  the  Generall  Assembly,  he  was  ordained  to  be 
summonded  again  the  next  day,  with  certification. 

May  20. — Mr  Robert  Lightoune  present. 

The  which  day,  being  called,  compeared  Mr  James  Aird,  and 
declared  that  the  Session  of  Newbotle,  to  which  he  was  clerk,  gave 
orders  to  him  for  the  giving  up  the  name  of  Steven  Askine  to  Mr  John 
Sinclair,  who  did  occasionally  preach  there  by  the  absence  of  Mr 
Robert  Lightoune,  for  receiving  his  satisfaction  for  his  compliance 
with  the  rebels ;  and  whereas  he  was  received,  not  being  first  at  the 
presbytery,  Conform  to  the  Act  of  the  Generall  Assembly,  it  was  onely 
done  b}'  him  out  of  ignorance.  Wherefore  he  was  admonished  to  be 
more  circumspect  afterward,  and  because  the  Session  was  concerned 
in  that  businesse,  they  ordained  the  elders  thereof  should  be  present 
the  next  day  to  declare  themselves. 

May  27. — (Steven  Askine,  who  was  a  parishioner  of  Lasswade, 
compears  in  sackcloth.) 

June  3. — The  which  day  it  was  declared  by  Mr  Robert  Lightoune, 
in  name  of  the  elders  of  the  Session  of  Newbotle,  that  whereas  they 
ordained  Steven  Askine  to  satisfy  for  his  compliance  with  the  rebels, 
contrary  to  the  Actis  of  the  Generall  Assembly,  they  did  it  out  of 
ignorance  of  the  said  Actis. 

Sept.  16. — The  which  day  Mr  Robert  Lightoune  made  a  reference 
to  the  presbytery,  of  a  processe  of  adultery,  from  the  session  of  New- 
battle,  of  John  Howy  and  Katherine  Alane,  which  they  denied. 

(Long  process  and  examination  of  witnesses  and  confronting  of 
parties.) 

[From  May  20,  1647,  when  the  sederunts  began  to  be  entered  in 
full,  till  March  23,  1648  (between  which  date  and  March  30  Leighton 
went  to  England)  there  were  41  meetings  of  presbytery"  (several  of 
them  being  merely  visitations  in  distant  parishes),  at  29  of  which  I  find 
Leighton  was  present.  There  were  few  more  regular  attenders.] 

1648. 

Jan.  20.  —  Mr  Robert  Leightone  having  given  in  Theses  de 
Oratione  atque  Invocations  Sanctorum,  was  appointed  to  handle  that 
commonplace,  the  next  Thursday. 

(174) 


ARCHBISHOP  LE1GHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

Jan.  27. — The  which  day  Mr  Robert  Leighton  handled  the  com- 
monplace De  Oratione  atque  Invocations  Sanctorum,  and  was  ap- 
proven. 

March  16. — This  day  came  from  the  Commission  of  the  General 
Assembly,  16  Declarations  and  ane  Act,  for  the  reading  of  them  by 
every  brother  the  next  Sabboth. 

(This  declaration  evidently  was  connected  with  the  "  unlawfull 
Engagement.") 

March  30. — Mr  Robert  Leightoun,  who  should  have  added,  being 
absent  in  England  for  some  necessary  businesse,  Mr  Robert  Alisonne 
appointed  to  adde  the  next  day. 

April  6. — This  day,  the  brethren  (being  interrogated  by  the  Mod- 
erator), (as  also  the  two  days  before)  declared  that  they  had  all  read 
the  Declaration  themselves  the  first  Sabboth  after  they  got  it.  Onely 
Robert  Porteous,  the  elder  of  Newbotle,  declared  that  Mr  Robert 
Leightoun  had  made  the  Precentor  read  it,  and  that  because  of  the 
lownesse  of  his  awne  voice,  which  could  not  be  heard  thorow  the 
whole  kirk.  The  clerk  was  ordained  to  report  this  in  writt  to  the 
Commission  of  the  General  Assembly. 

A-pril  27. — Absents  from  the  Synod,  tried. — Mr  Robert  Leightoun, 
because  in  England,  could  not  give  his  excuse. 

At  Edinburgh,  in  the  New  Church,  May  3. — The  quhilk  day,  the 
bretheren  and  ruling-elders  being  removed  quhill  ther  presbyteris 
book  wes  a  trying,  did  mak  choise  of  Mr  James  Robertsone  and  Mr 
Robert  Lichtoun  to  preach  to  the  Parliament  Sunday  come  a  moneth ; 
and  in  case  Mr  Robert  Lichton  his  not  home-coming,  Mr  Patrick 
Sibbald  to  supplie  his  place. 

June  15. — The  quhilk  day,  according  to  the  ordinance  of  the  Pro- 
vinciall  Assembly,  the  moderator  did  demand  Mr  Robert  Lichton — 
i.  Why  he  did  not  read  the  Declaration  himself.  2.  Why  he  went 
away  to  England  without  obtaining  libertie  from  the  Presbyterie, 
seein  ther  wes  Acts  of  the  Generall  Assembly  expresly  prohibiting 
ministers  to  be  absent  from  their  charge  thrie  sabbothes  togidder, 
under  the  paine  of  deposition,  unlese  they  have  obtainet  libertie  from 
ther  Presbyterie. 

To  the  first  he  answered,  That  that  Sabboth  quhen  the  Declaration 
wes  to  be  red,  he  wes  so  troubled  with  ane  great  defluction  that  he 
was  (not)  able  to  extend  his  voyce,  and  therfor  was  necessitat  to  do 
that  farr,  by  his  intention,  bot  it  shall  be  helpet  in  tyme  coming. 
To  the  2d  he  ansueret — 

1.  That  quhen  he  went  away  he  intendit  onlie  to  have  been  absent 
two  or  thrie   Sabbothes  at  the  most,   and  he  humbly  conceavet  ther 
had  bene  no  expresse  Act  why  an  minister  might  not  have  bene  absent 
for  that   short  space.     Bot   if  ther  be   any   such  Act,   he   wes   sorrie 
that  he  should  have  downe  anything  that  might  appeir  contrarie  to 
it. 

2.  Hoc  -posito  he  had  remainit  longer  away  than  these  few  Sab- 
bothes togedder,  he  affirmed,  that  he  did  acquaint  som  of  the  brether 
with  it,  and  desyret  them  to  excuse  him. 

3.  Quhen  he  cam  to  York  he  found  an  busines  of  an  neir  friend's, 
bot  non  of  his  own,  that  necessitat  him  to  go  further  and  stay  longer 
than  he  intendit. 

4.  He  no  sooner  came  to  York  bot  als  sone  he  wrote  an  letter  of 
excuse  to  the  Brether,  notwithstanding  it  did  not  come  to  ther  hands 
befor  his  coming  home. 

5.  Quhen  he  came  home  he  was  surpryset  with  seikness,  and  was 
not  able  to  come  to  the  presbyterie  for  the  space  of  14  days. 

He  being  removit,  and  his  excuses  being  considerit  and  they 
charitablie  constructed,  did  appoynt  him  to  be  gravlie  admonishit 
to  amend;  which  was  accordinglie  done  be  the  Moderator,  after  his 
incalling,  and  receavit  by  him  humblie,  and  promisit  be  the  grace  of 
God  to  amend. 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

June  22. — The  quhilk  day,  list  being  made  for  choising  the  com- 
missioners to  the  Generall  Assemblie,  Mr  John  Knox,  Mr  John  Sin- 
clair, and  Mr  Robert  Lichton  wes  choisen,  and  my  Lord  Borthwick 
rulling  elder;  which  being  intimat  be  the  Moderatour  to  them,  they 
did  all  accepe  of  the  commission  and  gave  ther  oath  of  fidelitie,  except 
Mr  Robert  Lichton,  who  gave  these  Reasones  why  he  could  not  accept 
of  the  commission  : 

1.  Because  he  had  an  great  charge. 

2.  He  had  his  people  to  examine. 

3.  He  wes  bot  shortlie  come  home  from  England. 

4.  It  was   not  long   since  he  was  commissioner   to   the   Generall 
Assemblie. 

5.  The  great  attendance  of  the  commission  :  And  therfor  he  could 
wish  they  would  not  insert  his  name  in  the  commission. 

The  forsaids  reasons,  after  his  removall,  being  consideret  be  the 
Brethren,  and  withal  laying  to  heart  the  bad  consequence  that  might 
follow  upon  his  refusall  or  not  accepting  of  the  commission,  being 
orderlie  choisen,  uthers  might  do  the  lyk,  and  so  ther  should  be  no 
Generall  Assemblie  if  the  allegit  reasones  of  every  commissioner 
should  be  accepted  as  relevant  :  And  therefor  they  did  adhere  unto 
ther  former  voyces  in  choising  of  him  commissioner,  and  desyret 
him  to  think  upon  it  till  the  day  14  days,  and  then  to  be  present  and 
accepe  upon  oath  as  the  rest. 

July  6. — The  quhilk  day,  the  brethren  and  rulling  elders  that 
were  present  finding  that  Mr  Robert  Lichton  was  not  ther  to  accepe 
the  commission  to  the  Generall  Assembly  ordainet  his  name  to  be 
expungit  be  the  clerk  out  of  the  commission. 

Aug.  5. — (Mr  Robert  Lichton  present  —  arrangement  made  for 
copying  and  reading  the  Declaration  against  the  Engagement  and  two 
Acts  of  the  Assembly.) 

August  last. — The  quhilk  day,  Mr  Robert  Lichton  wes  poset,  Why 
he  did  not  come  to  the  presbyterie  that  Thursday  immediately  preced- 
ing the  sitting  downe  of  the  Generall  (Assembly)  and  embracit  his 
commission  to  the  said  Assemblie,  conforme  to  the  appoyntment  of  the 
Presbyterie.  Ans.  He  was  so  troubled  with  an  distillation  that  he 
was  not  able  to  come  for  the  space  of  two  or  three  days. 

Also  being  poset,  Why  he  did  not  embrace  the  commission?  Ans. 
He  was  conscious  of  his  own  weaknes  for  the  managing  of  that 
busines,  and  could  have  wisht  that  they  would  construe  it  so. 

2.  He  declared  that  he  wes  very  infirme,  and  feared  that  he  should 
not  have  been  able  to  have  waited  upon  the  sitting  of  the  Generall 
Assembly.  And  withall  he  assured  them,  that  if  he  had  suspected 
that  they  would  not  have  choisen  another  in  his  place,  notwithstanding 
of  all  his  weakness  of  bodie,  yea,  although  it  had  tendit  to  the  great 
prejudice  of  his  health,  he  would  have  embraced  it,  for  he  resolvit 
never  to  be  refractarye  to  anything  which  they  commandit  him,  and 
he  lookit  they  would  think  so  of  him. 

The  forsaids  reasons  being  ponderet  be  the  Bretheren  and  found 
somwhat  weak,  they  thought  him  censurable,  but  quhat  his  censure 
should  be,  they  continued  the  same  to  the  nixt  Thursday  that  the  com- 
missioners of  the  Generall  Assemblie  be  present. 

Se-pt.  7. — The  quhilk  day,  the  bretheren  and  ruling  elders  (after 
Mr  Robert  Lichton  his  removall)  having  divers  tymes  hard  his  reasons 
red  be  the  clerk,  and  charitably  consideret  them,  why  he  did  not  accepe 
of  the  commission  to  the  General  Assemblie  the  first  day  quhen  he  wes 
choisen,  neither  cam  the  second  day  conforme  to  the  presbyteries 
ordinance,  having  gotten  tyme  to  think  upon  it  :  And  finding  that 
it  wes  not  disaffection  unto  the  cause  of  Christ,  neither  out  of  any 
disrespect  unto  the  ordinance  of  his  bretheren,  but  judging  it  modestie 
in  ther  brother  and  infirmitie  in  bodie  that  movet  him  to  it,  did  ordaine 
him  gravly  to  be  admonishit  be  the  Moderator  for  his  imprudent 

(176) 


ARCHBISHOP  LE1GHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

cariage,  and  to  beware  of  the  lyk  in  tyme  coming  :  Which  was  accord- 
ingly downe,  and  wes  modestly  taken  by  him,  and  withall  promiset 
be  the  grace  of  God  to  amend. 

Sept.  28 — Nov.  2. — (Mr  Robert  Whyt,  expectant,  charged  with  not 
being  "  weil  myndit  to  the  Covenant,"  and  suspected  of  not  praying  in 
the  Lugton  family  (where  he  seems  to  have  been  tutor)  against  the 
Engagement.  He  admitted  he  did  not  pray  against  the  engagement, 
gave  his  reasons,  and  after  long  process  was  ultimately  suspended.) 

Nov.  2. — (A  report  on  the  state  of  the  various  Kirks  of  the  Presby- 
tery occurs  here  in  the  Register.)  That  of  NEWBATTLE  is  very  brief, 
viz. — 

"The  parish  therof  four  miles  in  lenth,  and  in  bredth  two;  com- 
unicants  about  900 ;  provydet  with  manse  and  glybe  and  stipend,  payet 
be  the  Erie  of  Lowthean,  patron,  4  chalder  of  victuals,  40  bolls  thereof 
oats,  8  bolls  wheat,  and  16  bolls  beir,  with  400  merkes  of  moneys." 

(At  the  Synod  held  at  Edinburgh,  Nov.  7,  1648,  a  commission,  of 
which  Mr  Robert  Lightoune  was  a  member,  was  appointed  for  "  trying 
of  any  members  of  the  Assemblie  had  bein  active  promoters  of  the  last 
sinfull  ingadgement,  or  had  accession  thairto,  or  had  hand  in  carieing 
on  the  samen,  or  if  any  of  the  brethren  had  contryvit  subscrivit  or  had 
hand  anywayes  in  a  supplication  that  was  caried  on  befoir  and  at  the 
tyme  of  the  last  Generall  Assemblie,  and  is  reported  to  haue  been 
contrarie  to  the  public  resolutions  of  the  Generall  Assemblie." 

The  Committee  reported  that  "they  had  cleared  their  number," 
but  report  that  there  "  are  fyve  ruling  Elders  who  have  had  accession 
to  the  ingagement." 

[The  strict  examination  of  the  Presbytery  books  by  the  Synod,  pre- 
cluded the  possibility  of  any  minister  being  habitually  absent.] 

Dec.  21. — (Mr  Robert  Leightone  present.)  This  day,  the  brethren 
being  particularly  enquyred  by  the  Moderator,  If  they  had  observed 
the  fast,  and  renewed  the  Covenant  according  to  the  directions  given 
by  the  Commission  of  the  Generall  Assemblie,  answered  all,  that  they 
had  so  done ;  which  Mr  Jhone  Knox  was  ordained  to  report  to  the 
Commission. 

Dec.  28. — Exercised  Mr  Patrick  Sibbald  and  Mr  Robert  Leightone, 
upon  the  i5th  of  the  ist  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  from  the  6th  verse 
unto  the  gth. 

1649. 

Jan.  12. — Exercised  Mr  Robert  Leightone  and  Mr  Jhone  Knox, 
expectant,  upon  the  i5th  ch.  of  the  ist  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  from 
the  gth  verse  unto  the  i2th,  and  were  approven. 

April  12. — This  day,  the  Presbytery  having  diligently  revised  and 
examined  Mr  John  Pringle,  his  whole  processe  could  find  none  of  these 
declarations  that  were  given  in  against  him  clearly  and  directly 
proven,  &c.  (he  was  "an  expectant,"  or  probationer,  and  was  charged 

with  thinking  the  Engagement  lawfull) Mr  Robert  Leightone 

and  Mr  Jhone  Sinclare  did  declare  that,  to  their  best  sense  and  judg- 
ment, he  had  testified  to  them  and  evidenced  true  signs  of  sorrow  and 
repentance  for  his  errors  and  miscarriages  in  relation  to  the  late  En- 
gagement ;  the  Presbytery  suspended  him  from  preaching  till  he 
should  give  furder  signs  and  evidences  of  repentance.  (This  and 
other  notices  are  sufficient  to  show  the  incorrectness  of  Burnet's  state- 
ment, that  Leighton  in  the  year  1648  had  declared  himself  in  favour 
of  the  Engagement  for  the  King.) 

Over  and  over  again  there  are  references  in  the  Presbytery 
books  to  Leighton's  request  to  be  allowed  to  go  to  England. 
Probably  the  occasion  of  these  absences  was  to  visit  his  father, 
who,  though  a  Confessor  sorely  maimed,  lived  to  an  old  age. 
He  generally  remained  away  three  months,  and  would  pick 

M  (177) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

up  the  London  stage-coach  at  the  "  Sign  of  the  Sun"  Inn 
near  the  manse,  which  is  still  standing.  His  father  left  him 
;£iooo,  which  he  lost  through  the  failure  of  a  merchant.  In 
March,  1650, — the  year  after  his  father's  death, — he  again 
got  leave  to  go  to  London  "  on  weightie  business," — on  this 
occasion  to  try  and  rescue  some  of  the  money,  the  loss  of  which 
greatly  hampered  one  who  never  had  much  of  this  world's 
goods,  and  who  at  his  death  had  nothing, — ' '  the  provision  and 
the  pilgrimage  ending  together." 

1649,  May  31. — (Mr  Robert  Lighten  present.) 

-The  Moderator  having  inquyred  of  everie  brother  severally,  if 
they  had  red  the  Declaration,  and  bbserved  the  day  of  public  thanks- 
giving, found  that  everie  one  had  discharged  thaimselfs  cheerfullie. 

June  14. — The  which  day,  Mr  Robert  Lighten  declared  that  his 
Father,  being  under  seakness,  had  written  for  him,  and  thairfor  de- 
syred  libertie  to  goe  and  visite  him. 

The  Brethren  judget  his  desyr  reasonable,  graunted  the  same,  de- 
syring  him  to  returne  with  all  possible  diligence  to  his  charge,  and  to 
provide  some  to  supplie  his  plaice  induring  his  absence ;  quhilk  he 
promised  to  be  cairfull  off. 

June  21. — Erie  of  Louthian  chosen  rewling  elder  to  the  Assemblie. 

July  12. — At  Glencorss  Visitation,  the  people  said  they  were  abun- 
dantlie  satisfied  of  their  minister  [Mr  Robert  Allison]  in  his  life,  and 
much  edified  by  his  doctrine,  and  that  he  had  preached  according  to 
the  exigence  of  the  times,  and  particularlie  against  malignants  and 
sectaries. 

Se-pt.  6. — (Mr  Robert  Lighten  present,  first  time  since  June.) 

This  day  the  Presbyterie  appoynted  everie  brother  to  give  in  the 
names  of  all  quho  in  their  parishes  had  bene  upon  the  lait  unlawful 
Ingagement,  and  had  not  as  yet  nather  satisfied  nor  supplicate. 

Sep.  20. — Mr  Robert  Leighton  excused  for  his  absence  last  day 
(Sept.  13). 

Nov.  8. — The  Provinciall  Assemblie  of  Lowthian  and  Tweeddale 
"  requeists  my  Lord  Lowthian  to  speak  to  the  Committie  of  Estaits, 
that  ther  Lordships  may  give  ordour  to  their  clerks  to  issue  out  com- 
missiounes  for  tryall  and  burning  of  witches,  gratis." 

Nov.  29 — Dec.  6. — The  which  day,  exercised  Mr  Robert  Leightoun, 
2  Cor.  i.  6-1 1,  and  was  approven. 

1650. 

Jan.  24. — The  which  day  Marjorie  Paterson  of  the  parioch  of 
Newbottle  (and  others),  confessing  witches,  had  their  depositions  at- 
tested by  the  Moderatour. 

Every  minister  ordained  to  see  that  his  kirk  was  provided  accord- 
ing to  the  Act  of  Parliament.  Mr  Hugh  Campbell  to  speak  to  my 
Lord  of  Lothian  for  the  settling  of  the  stipend  of  Newbottle. 

Feb.  7. — The  which  day,  reported  Mr  James  Robertsoune,  that  my 
Lord  Lothian  had  provided  the  kirk  of  Newbottle  with  a  stipend,  ac- 
cording to  the  Act  of  Parliament,  to  wit,  4  chalders  victuall,  of  wheat, 
bear,  and  oats,  foure  hundrethe  pounds  of  money,  with  40  pounds  for 
the  elements,  with  4  sowmes  grass,  when  the  minister  shall  demand  it, 
with  manse  and  gleib. 

March  14. — The  which  day,  Mr  Robert  Leightoun  did  show  the 
Presbyterie  that  a  weightie  businesse  did  call  for  him  to  England,  and 
obtained  libertie  from  the  Presbytery  to  goe,  upon  condition  he  should 
take  a  course  for  the  providing  of  his  kirk  till  his  return,  which  he 
told  the  Presbyterie  he  had  alreadie  done. 

May  21. — Mr  Robert  Leightoun's  name  reappears  at  this  date. 

May  30. — This  day,  Mr  Robert  Carsan  complained  of  Robert 
Walter  his  precentour,  for  malignant  speeches  that  he  should  have 


ARCHBISHOP  LE1GHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

vented  in  my  Lord  Lothian's  family.  Mr  Robert  therefore,  and  Mr 
John  Sinclar,  were  ordained  to  try  my  Lady  Lothian  anent  his 
speeches. 

June  20. — This  day,  Mr  John  Sinclar  reported  that  Mr  Robert 
Carsan,  and  he  could  learn  nothing  of  the  malignancy  of  Robert 
Walter,  the  precentour  in  Newtoun,  at  Newbottle. 

June  27. — This  day,  Robert  Ker,  having  been  12  years  in  Germany, 
and  having  come  to  the  country  within  thirteen  dayes,  and  having  his 
father  dwelling  in  Newbotle,  was  ordained  to  be  received  to  the  cove- 
nant by  Mr  Robert  Leightoun,  after  triall. 

(One  Andrew  Alexander,  signs  a  declaration,  expressing  his  sor- 
row for  having  condemned  set  prayers,  and  the  use  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  admits  that  it  may  be  lawfully  used,  both  in  public  and 
private,  and  he  "  heartilie  detests  and  abhorres  the  errour  of  those 
who  condemne  the  use  therof  as  sinfull.") 

"  Moreover,  forasmuch  as  the  said  Andrew  declared  he  was  scar- 
cely satisfied  that  sett  prayers  were  lawfull,  and  desired  he  were  clear- 
ed from  Scripture,  Mr  Robert  Leightoun  and  Mr  John  Sinclar  were 
ordained  to  conferre  with  him.") 

Ther  wes  no  meiting  of  the  Brethren  from  25  Julii  1650,  untill 
the  15  day  of  Junij  1651,  into  which  there  wes  anything  judicially 
done.  The  Brethren  resolved  to  meet  at  Cockpen,  and  choose  Commis- 
sioners to  the  Generall  Assembly.) 

1651. 

June  22. — The  meeting  was  held  at  Cokpen. 

Nine  members  were  present,  including  Mr  Robert  Lichton. 
(One  or  two  leaves  wanting  here,  till  Oct.  30,  1651.) 

1651,  Nov.  4. — Adjourned  to  January  6,  and  then  to  March  1652  : — 

Proceedings  of  the  Synod. 

No  Presbytery  Books  except  Linlithgow,  because,  through  the  cal- 
amities of  the  times,  the  meetings  of  Presbyteries  had  been  very  unfre- 
quent.  Long  proceedings  about  differences  in  the  Presbytery  of  Lin- 
lithgow. A  committee,  of  which  Robert  Leighton  was  a  member, 
appointed  to  consider  what  should  be  done  by  the  Synod. 

A  committee  appointed  to  consider  "what  is  expedient  to  be  done 
in  relation  to  our  Brethren  prisoners  in  the  Tower  of  London  and 
about  that  city." 

Committee  for  healing  present  ruptures  in  the  Kirk,  and  Act  of 
Synod  thereanint. 

A  committee  of  which  Robert  Leightoun  was  a  member,  appointed 
to  present  this  Act  to  the  brethren  differing  in  judgment  from  its  Pro- 
vinciall  Assembly. 

(Committee  on  Mr  Edward  Wright's  processe  appointed  :  Robert 
Leighton  one  of  the  members.) 

Overtures  anent  the  Brethren  Prisoners  in  England. 

The  committee  appointed  in  relation  to  our  brethren,  prisoners 
in  England,  proposed — (i.)  That  a  generall  letter  should  be  written 
to  them,  showing  sympathie  and  fellow-feeling.  (2.)  "  That  a  fitt  man 
of  the  Synod  be  pitched  upon,  to  be  sent  to  London  with  com- 
mission to  negotiat  their  liberation  and  freedome,  by  all  possible  and 
lawfull  meanes,  quho  may  take  advice  of  the  minister  of  St  Andrews 
and  Edinburgh,  the  Lord  Warristoune,  and  Mr  John  Livingstoune, 
anent  his  carriage  in  that  business,  quho  shall  have  50  peeces  (50 
peeces — 600  merks)  allowed  toward  his  charges,  te  be  payed  by  the 
Presbyteries  of  the  Synod  proportionally.  (3.)  That  some  be  directed 
from  the  Synod  to  acquaint  the  Magistrats  of  Edinburgh,  and  the 
persons  in  nearest  relation  to  the  prisoners,  with  this  resolution. 

(Mr  Robert  Ker  and  the  clerk  to  draw  out  the  letters  and  commis- 
sion, and  a  committee,  of  which  Mr  Robert  Leightoun  was  one,  to 

(179) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

acquant  the  Magistrats  and  nearest  relations  with  the  Synod's  pur- 
pose.) Proportions  payable  by  the  Presbyteries  fixed. 

Mr  Robert  Leightoun  is  unanimously  chosen  and  earnestly  desired 
by  the  Synod  to  undertake  the  charge  of  repairing  to  London  for  ne- 
gotiating and  enlargement  and  fredome  of  our  imprisoned  brethren 
in  England ;  quhilk  he  accepted.  The  commission  being  presented 
and  read,  was  aproven ;  the  tenor  quhairof  followeth. 

The  Provinciall  Assembly  taking  to  consideration  the  sadd  con- 
dition of  their  brethren  now  prisoners  in  England,  and  the  dutie 
incumbent  to  this  Assembly  in  relation  to  them,  found  themselves 
obliged  as  to  hold  them  up  in  prayer  to  God  in  privat  and  publict, 
so  to  use  all  lawfull  meanes  for  their  enlargement  and  libertie ;  and 
having  found  it  expedient  for  that  end,  that  on  should  be  sent  up  to 
London,  doe  unanimouslie  appoynt  their  reverend  brother,  Mr  Robert 
Leightoun,  minister  at  Newbottle  :  hereby  giving  him  power  and  com- 
mission to  repair  to  London  for  negotiating  the  freedome  and  enlarge- 
ment of  their  said  brethren ;  and  doe  appoint  the  Presbytrie  of  Dal- 
keith  to  take  course  for  supplie  of  his  place,  that  the  people  of  his 
charge  sustaine  no  prejudice  during  the  time  of  his  absence  :  lykewise 
the  drawght  of  the  letter  to  the  brethren  imprisoned,  being  presented 
and  read,  was  approven,  the  tenor  quhairof  followeth  : — 

REVEREND  AND  DEARE  BRETHREN, —  [4th  November,  1651]. 

Neither  our  condition  nor  yours  will  permitt  us  at  this  time  fullie 
to  expresse  the  thoughts  of  our  hearts  toward  yow  in  your  suffering,  yett 
we  thought  it  our  dutie  to  give  yow  some  testimony  of  our  remembrance 
of  yow ;  and  therefore,  being  by  the  Lord's  good  providence  mett  here 
in  our  Provinciall  Assembly,  the  brotherlie  affection  we  carry  to  yow, 
and  the  Christiane  sympathie  we  have  with  yow,  hath  put  us  to  a 
resolution  of  assaying  all  possible  and  lawfull  meanes  of  your  en- 
largement ;  for  this  effect  we  have  desired  our  reverend  brother,  Mr 
Robert  Leightoun,  to  repair  to  London,  giving  power  to  negotiate  in 
that  matter,  as  God  sail  be  pleased  to  blesse  any  meanes  for  that  end, 
— there  shall  be  no  earthly  thing  more  acceptable  to  us  :  for  obtaining 
hereof  we  have  appoynted  prayers  to  be  made  throughout  the  churches 
of  our  bounds  :  in  the  meanwhyle  assure  yorselves  our  souls  desire  to 
God  shall  be  for  yow,  that  his  consolation  may  abound  in  yow,  and 
his  strength  support  yow  :  to  his  rich  grace  we  commend  yow,  and  are 
in  him 

Your  loving  Brethren  and  most  affectionat 

THE  MINISTERS  AND  ELDERS  OF  THE  PROVINCIALL 
ASSEMBLY  OF  LOTHIAN,  &c.  in  their  name. 
(A  Fast  appointed.) 

1652,  March  3.— Mr  Robert  Leightoun  appointed  by  the  Synod  one 
of  a  committee  "  To  consider  of  the  marriage  and  fornication  of  our 
women  with  the  English  souldiers,  and  the  baptizme  of  children  gotten 
betwixt  them  in  fornication ;  and  whether  ministers  are  to  accompt  the 
personnes  so  maried  of  the  number  of  their  congregation ;  also  how  to 
cary  in  case  of  their  suteing  proclamation,  and  to  present  their  thots 
anent  these  things  to  the  Synod,"  &c.  &c. 

March  4. — Report  :  Mr  Hew  M'Kaile — Mr  Robert  Trail!  and  he 
having  moved  the  English  Commissioner  for  freedome  or  maintenance 
to  our  brethren  prisoners  in  England,  speciallie  those  who  are  in  the 
Tower,  that  they  found  no  hopes  at  all  of  the  former,  and  but  little 
for  the  latter. 

The  Synod  nominats  and  appoints  Messrs  William  Dalgliesh, 
George  Leslie,  Oliver  Colt,  Robert  Ker,  to  concurre  with  the  brethren 
of  Edinburgh  in  dealing  with  Mr  Leighton,  to  the  intent  of  the  com- 
mission given  him  for  repairing  to  London,  to  negotiat  for  the  breth- 
ren in  prisone  there. 

(180) 


ARCHBISHOP  LE1GHTON  AND  HIS  NEW  BATTLE  LIBRARY. 

Dalkeith,  November  14. — In  supplying  Borthwick  during  the 
vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Mr  James  Porteous,  it  was  or- 
dained, that  (after  six  members  who  are  named)  it  should  be  done  by 
those  who  should  have  suppliet  Mr  Robert  Lichton's  place  during  his 
abod  at  England,  if  he  went  not  away  before  that  tyme. 

(Few  meetings  of  the  Presbytery  were  held  about  this  time.) 

1652. 

January  22. — No  exercise,  because  of  the  English  comissioners 
at  Dalkeith,  and  the  great  confluence  of  soldiery,  both  of  horse  and 
foot. 

The  said  day  the  brethren  appoynted  ther  next  day  of  meeting 
to  be  at  Cokpen  this  day  20  days,  fearing  the  insolencie  of  the  soul- 
diers  at  Dalkeith. 

At  Cokpen  :  There  was  no  thing  judicially  downe,  because  there 
wes  bot  few  brether  came  ther,  and  therfore  it  wes  resolvet  that  the 
place  of  meeting  should  be  at  Dalkeith  againe.  In  respect  they  were 
credibly  informed  that  they  might  als  safely  meet  at  Dalkeith  as  at 
Cokpen. 

April  i. — An  act  of  the  Sessione  of  Borthwik  laid  on  the  table, 
showing  that  the  heritors  and  elders  had  unanimouslie  chosen  Mr  John 
Weir  as  their  minister.  The  brethren  having  pondered  the  premess, 
approved  of  the  same,  and  "  appointed  Messrs  James  Fairlie,  Robert 
Lichton,  to  concurre  with  the  heritors  of  Borthwick  for  his  transport- 
ation from  Leith  to  Borthwick,  and  for  that  effect  to  appear  before 
the  Presbytrie  of  Edinburgh. 

April  15. — The  quhilk  day,  reported  Mr  James  Fairlie  and  Mr 
Robert  Lichton,  that  they  had  been  at  the  Presbyterie  of  Edinburgh, 
for  the  lousing  of  Mr  Johne  Weir  from  his  charge  he  had  at  Leith, 
and  that  they  had  loused  him  from  his  charg  ther  without  relation 
unto  any  place. 

Weir  having  accepted  this  call  to  Borthwick  :  the  call,  among 
other  things,  says,  "  and  that  it  will  be  your  studie-  not  to  break,  bot 
entertaine  and  preserve,  the  union  and  harmonie  of  this  Presbyterie, 
quhairin  they  are  so  singularly  happie  in  this  distracted  tyme." 

At  Znneresk  Kirk,  April  29. — The  quhilk  day,  ther  came  an  letter 
from  Mr  Robert  Lichton,  desyring  the  brethren  to  have  an  cair  of 
suppliing  his  place  during  his  abod  in  England,  in  respect  he  wes 
going  to  sie  if  he  can  obtaine  any  sort  of  libertie  to  these  Ministers 
who  wer  keepet  in  the  Tower  and  uther  places. 

The  brethren  condescendit  to  his  desyr,  and  ordainit  Mr  James 
Robertsone  to  preach  at  Newbotle  upon  Sonday  com  8  days,  and  after 
him  the  wholl  brether  to  preach  ther  per  vices,  according  to  their 
standing,  expressed  in  the  Presbyterial  Roll. 

July  15. — Also  it  was  informed  by  some  of  the  brether,  that  Mr 
James  Robertsone,  at  the  marriag  of  the  Erie  of  Lowthian's  daughter, 
had  both  in  the  kirk  prayet,  and  at  the  table  in  Newbotle  Castell 
craved  an  blessing  before  supper,  and  given  thanks  also,  Swinton  being 
present,  who  is  excommunicat ;  and  therfor  Mr  James  being  posit  if 
it  wer  so,  as  wes  alledget,  An.  :  That  if  Swinton  wes  in  the  kirk  it 
wes  more  than  he  knew  of,  for  he  did  not  sie  him  ther.  As  for  his 
being  at  the  table,  it  wes  an  long  tyme  before  he  did  perceave  him, 
he  being  at  an  larg  distance  from  him,  and  many  betwixt  them,  as 
also  it  being  in  the  evening.  Bot  quhen  he  perceaved  him  ther,  he  wes 
much  weighted  then,  as  also  now,  for  his  imprudent  and  inconsiderat 
carriag.  As  for  his  giving  of  thanks,  it  wes  after  Swinton's  rysing 
from  the  table,  uthers  having  downe  the  lyk  befor,  and  taking  the 
opportunitie  at  his  absence,  did  give  thanks. 

The  brethren  having  ponderat  the  premisses,  and  finding  that  he 
had  not  careit  himself  as  it  became  an  man  of  his  place  and  age, 
ordainet  him  to  be  publicly  rebuiket,  and  to  be  more  circumspect  in 

(181) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

tyme  to  come ;  which,  after  his  incalling,  wes  accordingly  down,  and 
the  same  rebuik  well  accepted  of  by  the  said  Mr  James. 

(Leighton  appears  to  have  remained  in  England  from  May  till 
about  the  end  of  November  1652.) 

December  16. — A  letter  frome  Mr  Robert  Lichtone,  presented  be 
Mr  Hew  Campbell,  quhairin  he  dimits  his  charge  of  his  ministrie  at 
Newbotle  :  Quhilk  the  Presbyterie  refused  to  accept.  Appoints  the 
Moderator  to  writ  to  him,  and  to  desyre  him  to  returne  to  his  charge. 

December  30.  —  Ressavit  from  Mr  Robert  Lichtone  ane  letter, 
quhairin  he  divests  his  charge  de  no-vo,  quhilk  the  Presbyterie  refused 
to  accept.  Appoints  the  Moderator  to  writ  to  him. 

1653- 

Januar  13. — Appoints  Mr  James  Robertsone  to  preach  in  Newbotle, 
and  to  speik  to  the  Earl  of  Lauthian  about  Mr  Lichtone  and  Mr  Robert 
Alisone  the  nixt  day. 

Reported  the  Moderator  that  he  had  written  to  Mr  Lichtone. 

Januar  27. — Compeared  Mr  Robert  Lichtone,  and  desyred  to  be 
lowsed  from  his  charge. 

Compeared  Andrew  Brysone,  in  name  of  the  towne  of  Edinburgh, 
shewing  that  the  Councell  of  Edinburgh  had  given  Mr  Lichtone  a  call 
to  be  Principall  of  the  Colledge ;  and  his  commissione  being  requyred, 
he  undertook  to  produce  it  at  the  nixt  meeting.  Appoints  the  nixt 
meeting  to  be  this  day  eight  dayes,  and  then  to  give  ane  answer  to 
both  :  but  no  exercise  that  day.  Appoints  Mr  Robert  Carsane  to 
preach  in  Newbotle,  to  mak  publick  intimation  to  the  parishioners, 
that  if  they  had  any  thing  to  say  against  the  lowsing  of  their  Minister, 
they  might  appear  befor  the  Presbyterie  the  nixt  day. 

February  3. — Reported  Mr  Robert  Carsane  that  he  had  preached 
in  Newbotle,  and  made  publick  intimation,  as  was  appointed  the  last 
day.  The  parochiners  of  Newbotle  called,  compeared  not. 

Ane  letter  presented  be  Andrew  Brysone  from  the  Councell  of 
Edinburgh,  desyring  that  Mr  Lichtone  might  be  lowsed  from  his 
charge  at  Newbotle,  and  transported  with  all  conveniencie  to  Edin- 
burgh Colledge,  to  be  Principall  there ;  and  ane  Act  of  Councell  lyke- 
wyse  presenting  the  said  Mr  Lichtone  to  the  said  place.  Mr  Lichtone 
being  posed,  if  he  wold  embrace  the  foresaid  charge,  answered,  that 
he  wes  not  yet  fully  resolved. 

The  quhilk  day  the  brethren  of  the  Presbyterie  convened,  accord- 
ing to  the  appointment  of  the  day  preceding,  anent  the  desyre  of  our 
brother,  Mr  Robert  Lichtone,  to  be  lowsed  frome  his  ministrie  at  the 
kirk  of  Newbotle,  by  reason  of  the  gritnes  of  the  congregatione  farre 
exceeding  his  strength  for  discharging  the  dewties  thereof,  especially 
the  extreme  weakness  of  his  voice  not  being  able  to  reache  the  halfe 
of  them  when  they  are  convened,  which  hes  long  pressed  him  very 
sore,  as  he  had  formerly  often  expressed  to  us  :  And  to  give  ane 
answer  to  the  Commissioner  from  the  Councell  of  Edinburgh,  anent 
his  call  from  them  to  be  Principall  of  Edinburgh  Colledge,  that  he 
may  be  released  from  his  ministrie  ther  to  that  effect.  And  having 
ordained  the  parish  of  Newbotle  to  be  warnit  by  public  intimation 
from  pulpit  to  heir  and  see  quhat  they  could  object  against  the  said 
desyre  and  call.  The  Brethren  this  day  having  called  the  said 
parish,  and  they  not  compearing,  nor  any  in  their  name,  and  having 
hard  our  said  Brother  renew  his  desyre,  as  also  having  red  the  letter 
and  commissione  from  the  Councell  of  Edinburgh,  directed  to  us  by 
Andrew  Bryson,  thesaurer  to  the  said  toun,  anent  his  foirsaid  call, 
did,  after  mature  deliberatione,  unanimouslie  conclude,  that  the  said 
Mr  Robert  Lichton  shall  be  lowsed,  and  by  thir  presents,  doe  actually 
lowse  him  from  his  ministrie  at  the  said  kirk  of  Newbotle,  declaring 
the  kirk  thereof  to  be  vacant,  and  transports  him  to  that  charge.  And 
ordains  publick  intimation  to  be  made  heirof  the  next  Lord's  Day  at 

(182) 


ARCHBISHOP  LEIGHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

the  said  kirk  of  Newbotle,  by  Patricke  Sibbald,  minister  at  Penni- 
cooke,  and  ordains  ane  extract  heirof  to  be  given  to  the  said  Androvy 
Bryson,  and  to  Robert  Porteous,  younger,  in  Newbattle. 

Appoints  Mr  Patrick  Sibbald  to  preach  in  Newbotle,  and  to  con- 
vene the  Session,  and  to  desyre  them  to  pitch  with  all  conveniencie 
upon  ane  honest  and  able  man. 

[Mr  Alexander  Dickson,  afterwards  Professor  of  Hebrew  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  was  admitted  Leighton's  successor  on  the 
7th  of  October,  1653.] 


II. 

KIRK-SESSION  MINUTES  OF  NEWBATTLE. 

1643,  March  12. — The  whilk  day  the  Heritoures  of  the  parochine 
of  Newbattell,  with  Minister  and  Elders,  being  convenit  in  the  kirk 
thereof — viz.,  Mr  Robert  Lightone,  Sir  John  Murray,  Mark  Cass  of 
Cokpen,  Thomas  Megot  of  Maisterton,  Mr  Robert  Preston,  Robert 
Porteous,  elder  and  younger,  Mr  Mark  Ker,  John  Trent,  James  Ker, 
with  uthers  divers,  condescendit  and  agreed,  with  ane  consente,  to 
pay  to  thair  reader  and  schoolmaster,  Williame  Hamilton,  the  soume 
of  tua  hunder  marks  yearly,  at  tua  times  in  the  year  proportionally, 
Witsonday  and  Martimes — viz.,  Be  the  Right  Honourable  William 
Earle  of  Lowthean  fourtie  punds,  be  the  toune  of  Newbattell  nftie 
marks,  and  the  rest  of  the  tua  hunder  marks  to  be  payit  out  of  land- 
wart — viz.,  Fordell  and  Coatis  twentie-fyve  marks,  Eisthousses  elevin 
markes,  Westhousses  sextein  pundis,  Southsyde  seven  pundis  ten  schil- 
lings, Murtoun  fiftie  shillings,  Arniston  for  Newbyres  ten  marks, 
and  the  tuo  milnes  to  pay  the  rest  that  wantis  of  the  forsaid  tuo  hunder 
merks. 

April  9. — Given  for  a  lock  to  the  gate  of  the  kirkyard,        00-14-00 
May. — (Arrangements  connected  with  the  communion.     The  com- 
mencement is  torn  away,  which  related  to  "  preparations  befoir,"  and 
"for  provision  of  the  elementes."     This  last  by   "John  Trent   and 
Archibald  Broune."     It  then  says)  "  Also  for," 

The  First  Sabbath.  The  Second  Sabbath. 

Thomas  Megot,  Andrew  Abernathie, 

Robert  Prestoun,  James  Ramsay, 

Robert  Porteous  elder,  Samuell  Davidson, 

Robert  Porteous  younger,  Johne  Trentt, 

Thomas  Steill,     '  Thomas  Russell, 

John  Hutcheson.  George  Huntar. 

For  Dooris.  For  Tikattis  (Tickets). 

John  Borthwik.  Archibald  Broune. 

James  Ker.  James  Trentt. 

Ther  is  also  appointed  be  the  session  for  the  first  dayes  elementis, 
tuo  gallonis  of  vyne  and  two  dusson  of  breid. 

Memorandum. — That  after  the  communion  there  sail  be  ane  ac- 
compt  taken  of  the  pooris  money  in  the  box,  becaus  this  tuo  year  no 
accompt  has  been  taken. 

June  26. — The  which  day,  all  the  collections  and  distributions 
from  the  loth  Oct.  1641  till  his  26th  June,  1643,  being  all  layit  and 
competit,  thar  remainit  undistribut  of  good  money  in  the  poor's  box 
121  pundis.  (See  Cash  Book.) 

(183) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

August  14. — The  minister  and  elders  of  the  parochin  of  Newbat- 
tell,  considering  the  manie  evillis  that  follow  upon  the  neglect  of  bring- 
ing up  childring  at  school,  and  especially  and  that  it  is  not  only  ane 
maine  cause  of  thair  grosse  rudness  and  incivility,  bot  of  thair  un  god- 
lines  and  ignorance  of  the  principillis  of  religion,  and  makis  them 
also  almost  unteaehabell,  have  ordained  that  all  parents  within  the 
said  paroch  be  careful,  so  soon  as  thair  childring  com  to  capabill 
yeiris,  to  send  them  to  some  schooll,  that  thay  may  learne  at  the  leist 
to  read,  and  that,  whosoever  sail  be  found  within  this  paroch  to  fail 
heirirf,  sail  be  obliged  to  pay  as  give  they  did  send  thair  childring  to 
schooll  according  to  the  number  of  thame,  or  be  utherwayes  cens(ured) 
as  the  session  sail  think  fitting. 

Oct.  15. — It  was  related  be  the  elders  that  searchit,  that  thair  was 
tuo  wes  drinking  in  James  Erskine's  in  tym  of  divin  service,  and 
ordainis  the  said  James  Erskin  to  be  sumoned  against  next  Saboth 
to  compeir  befoir  the  session. 

Nov.  5. — The  quhilk  day,  it  was  with  universall  consent,  both  of 
minister  and  elders,  condescendit  upon  that  thair  sould  be  built  befoir 
the  pulpet  ane  convenient  seatt  of  timber  for  the  reidar  as  is  in  uther 
kirkis  :  and  the  elders  to  sit  at  the  tabill  or  boord  befoir  the  pulpett. 

Nov.  12. — It  was  relatit  that  John  Burrowman  in  Easthousses  did 
carie  his  aill  and  small  drink  oft  and  divers  tyms  throw  the  parochin 
upon  the  Sabbath  day,  and  thairfoir  is  to  compeir  befoir  the  session 
the  next  Sabbath  that  he  may  be  decernit  to  satisfie  for  the  same. 

1644,  Feb.  n. — After  dividing  the  parish  into  districts,  and  nam- 
ing an  elder  for  each,  it  is  added — That  everie  ane  be  cairfull  within 
thair  owin  boundis  designit  to  visit  frequently,  as  once  in  fyfteen 
dayes,  and  to  inquyr  about  family  exerceise  in  every  house,  and  the 
conversation  of  the  people.  Especially  to  tak  ordour  with  cursing, 
swearing,  or  scolding,  and  excessive  drinking — give  any  such  dis- 
ordour  be  fund  amongst  tham ;  and  to  be  cairfull  in  visiting  the  seik, 
and  sik  as  ar  in  want  to  give  notice  of  thame  to  the  minister  and 
session. 

March  13.  —  The  which  day,  it  was  condescendit  upon  be  the 
elderis  and  heritours,  at  thair  meeting  in  the  kirk  of  Newbattell,  that 
thair  sould  be  the  soum  of  ane  thousand  pundis  of  stent  imposit  upon 
the  heritours  of  the  said  parochin  for  repairing  of  the  said  Kirk. 

March  17. — The  which  day,  it  was  condescendit  upon  be  the  mini- 
ster and  the  wholl  session,  that  Captain  Andrew  Abernethie  sould 
have  the  roome  and  place  whair  Abraham  Hereis'  dask  and  seatt 
stood,  to  build  and  place  tuo  pews  in.  Also  Patrik  Eleis  (Elice),  now 
of  Southsyde,  gave  in  his  bill  and  petition  to  the  session  desyring 
Alexander  Lawson  in  Westhousses  to  remove  out  of  that  seat  that 
belongit  to  him  next  to  my  Lord's  Isle,  on  the  west  syd  thairof. 
Patrik  Eleis  referrit  himself  to  the  arbitriment  of  the  session ;  bot 
Alexander  Lawson  declynit  the  session  and  appealit  to  the  presbiterie. 

The  which  day,  it  was  condescendit  at  the  meeting  of  elders  and 
heritouris,  that  thair  sould  be  the  soume  of  ane  thousand  punds  of 
stent  for  the  repairing  of  the  Kirk  of  Newbattell  imposit  upon  the 
heritours  of  the  parochin  of  Newbattell. 

March  26. — The  heritours  and  elders  being  also  convenit,  being 
inquyred  whom  they  thought  most  fitt  for  collecting  of  the  former 
soume,  did  appoynt  Thomas  Megot  of  Muirtoun  collectour  for  the 
toun  of  Newbattell,  and  Robert  Porteous,  younger,  collectour  for  the 
gentilmen  in  landward. 

June  16. — Appointed  to  attend  upon  the  committee  in  Edinburgh 
everie  Monday,  vicissim  tours  about,  Thomas  Megot,  James  Ramsay, 
Robert  Porteous  elder  and  younger,  John  Trent,  Thomas  Russell,  and 
Johne  Hutchison. 

(No  meetings  of  Session  held  from  December,  1644,  to  May,  1645.) 

(184) 


ARCHBISHOP  LE1GHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

Eodem. — Thair  lent  out  of  the  -pooris  money  to  the  Minister, 
•with  consent  of  the  Session,  500  marks  Scottis. 

(This  entry  is  erased  by  a  pen  being  drawn  through  it,  the  money 
having  either  been  repaid,  or  perhaps  not  required.) 

Mair  to  James  Ramsay,  100  marks. 

Mair  to  Thomas  Russell  in  Newbattell,  100  marks,  quhairof  the 
annuelrent  was  payit  till  Candelmas  1646. 

Mair  to  Sir  John  Murray,  300  marks. 

(The  next  and  only  other  entry  in  the  book  is  dated  4th  January, 
1646,  so  that  during  1645  there  were  apparently  only  two  meetings 
of  session  held).  The  foregoing  minutes  appear  to  be  principally  in 
the  handwriting  of  William  Hamilton. 

Another  volume  commences  in  the  handwriting  of  Mr  James 
Aird. 

March  17,  1646. — (On  two  fly-leaves  at  the  beginning  of  the  vol- 
ume are  the  following  entries)  : — 

"  A  Catoluge  of  Bookes  given  by  William  Earle  of  Lothiane  to 
the  Parisch  Kirk  of  Newbattell,  to  be  ane  abiding  librarie  for  the  use 
of  the  Ministers  thereof  successively. 

"Also  of  such  bookes  as  uthers  well  affected  hath  given  for  the 
increase  of  the  same  librarie." 

(The  catalogue  has  been  torn  away,  but  in  the  Presbytery  Records 
there  is  a  list  of  the  books.  On  the  other  fly-leaf  are  the  following 
entries)  : — 

Record  of  Wescheles  (vessels)  and  such  like  that  pertaine  to  the 
Parosch  of  NEWB. 

1646,  29  May. — The  whilk   day,   was   given   by  Robert   Porteous 
younger,  a  silver  cup  for  service  to  the  Kirk. 

Likewise  by  Alexander  Kaitnes,  another  of  that  same  faschion. 
Likewise  by  Patrick  Ileis  of  Southsyde. 

1647,  May  2. — The  whilk  day,  Sir  John  Murray  was  chosen  ruling 
elder  for  the  ensuing  Synod. 

May  16. — The  whilk  day  was  Patrick  Ileis  of  Southsyd  receaved 
by  Mr  James  Fairlie  from  the  place  of  public  repentance,  where  he 
had  sitten  from  the  aforenamed  day,  and  entred  (continued)  to  sit 
without  intermission  in  sackcloth. 

(Leighton  was  absent  from  February  till  this  time.) 

1647,  Nov.  21. — The  whilk  day  Helen  Smith  was  exhorted  by  the 
Minister,  in  presence  of  the  Session,  to  have  a  care  of  herself  and 
house,  that  she  walked  Christianlie.     Because  schoe  was  reported  to 
have  had  ane  unrulie  and  uncivill  house,  which  cold  not  be  throughly 
provin. 

1648,  Feb.  27. — And  Didhop  and  Isobell  Watt  were  reseaved  pub- 
licly for  a  scandall  they  had  given  by  being  out  in  a  yaird  together, 
which  in  some  circumstances  had  some  presumptions ;  yet  because  the 
Session  cold  not  knaw  no  more  but  that  they  were  happily  preveined 
from  adulterie,  did  appoint  them  to  acknowledge  their  scandall  pub- 
licly. 

March  27. — Bessie  Lawsone  and  Marjorie  Nicolsone  humbled 
themselves  on  their  knees  before  the  Session  for  scolding,  and  were 
referred  to  the  magistral. 

June  4. — Jon  Clerk  was  punished  by  the  civil  magistrat  for 
drunkenness. 

1648,  i-jth  Sept.  is  the  last  entry  of  the  Session  proceedings  in 
this  volume.  No  other  volume  is  extant  of  its  proceedings  during 
Leighton's  incumbency.  His  successor  seems  to  have  begun  a  new 
volume  when  he  came  in  1653.  There  is,  however,  one  page  containing 
short  Sessional  notices,  extending  from  $d  Dec.  1648  to  Sept.  23,  1649, 
a.nd  another  containing  notices  from  May. to  July  1650. 

On  a  fly-leaf 'is  a  "  Coumpt  of  charges  given  for  the  building  of 
the  Eastern  loft,  beginning  the  21  of  June  1646."  Among  other  items 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

is  one  of  £2,  for  "  mending  the  doore  of  the  kirk  and  the  loaupping- 
on  stone." 

The  Term  of  Mertemes  1650. 

The  quhilk  day  Robert  Porteous  did  dischairg  himself  off  the 
money  quhilk  he  was  dew  to  the  schurch  off  Newbottell,  and  his  de- 
bursment  is  all  allowet.  He  restet  off  fre  money — the  soume  off  ane 
thousand  merks  Scotis  quh'itch  wes  delyverit  to  Mr  Lichtoune,  minister 
thaire,  for  the  quhitch  he  hes  gevane  his  bond  to  pay  interest;  and 
now  at  this  terme  off  Witsonday  1651,  the  said  Mr  Lichtoune  hes  de- 
burset  the  half  yeir's  interest  from  Mertenmess  1650  to  Wltsounday 
1625,  at  dispositione  off  the  elders.  And  to  testefie  thir  premisses,  we 
the  Elders  underwretten  hes  subscryvet  with  our  hands. 

THOMAS  MEGOT,  Witness. 

ROBERT  PORTEOUS  Yonger. 

JOHNE  TRENT,  Witness. 

JOHNE  EDMONDSTONE,  Witness. 

Some  extracts  from  the  Session's  Accounts  during  Leigh- 
ton's  incumbency  may  be  interesting. 

1642. 

July  31     Given  at  command  of  Session  for  ane  horse  to    £    s.    d. 

to  the  Minister, 01800 

23  August     Given  to  James  Johnson,  wright,  on  command 

of  the  minister,  for  mending  the  pulpett,  i  10    o 

,,  Mair  to  Nicoll  Simpson  for  making  and  dress- 

ing of  the  grein  cloath  to  the  pulpett,  -        -       i  16    o 

3  Septr.     Given  to  the  Paintor,  at  command  of  Session, 

for  collouring  the  pulpett,       -        -  434 

4  Septr.     Accompt  of  the  pulpett  cloath  : 

„              Item,   for  ane  ell  and  quarter  of  cloath  at  3 

markes  the  ell,  is     -  -   £6  13    4 

,,              Item  for  8  ell  fustian  at  i6s.  the  ell,  -        -  -680 

,,              Item  for  3  ell  and  ane  half  silk  fringes,  -  -      6  14    4 


4  Septr.     That  same  day  given  by  Minister  to  Andrew  Lun,  ^300 
14  Sept.       Given    to   James    Jonson    for    ane    footgang    to 

serve  for  the  communion,          -        -        -        -001200 
16  October    Mair  given  out  for  pulpit  cloath,       -        -        -     20  oo  oo 
Robert  Cuthbertson  beadle  at  this  time. 
William  Hamilton  schoolmaster  of  the  parish. 
There  was  also  a  schoolmaster  in  Stobhill,  Thomas 
Smebeard ;    and   another   in   Westhouses,    David 
Prengell. 

1643. 
28  May      Mair  to  Robert  Porteous  to  buy  ane  cave,  to 

keip  our  communion  wyne  in,  -        -        -        -     13  10    o 
,,  For  carrying  cave  from  Edinburgh,          -        -060 

24  Septr.      Given  out  of  the  collections  of  the  poore's  money, 
for  ane  Psalm-book  to  serve  the  kirk,  and  for 

binding  the  Bybill, 3  15     o 

22  Octr.     Given  for  the  Acts  of  the  Assembly,       -        -      o  13    4 

,,  Mair  for  the  Covenant, 040 

„  Given  at  command  of  the  Minister  to  ane  gen- 

tilwoman  in  grit  necessitie,  -        -        -400 

10  Deer.  Mair  for  the  subscryving  of  the  Covenant,  to  the 
Reidar  that  subscryvit  for  thes  that  could  not 
subscryve  themselffs,  i  10  4 

(186) 


ARCHBISHOP  LEIGHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

1644. 

To    James    Jonson,    wryt,    for    making    steps    of 
timber  about  the  pulpett, ^3  15    o 

Given  to  Robert  Cuthbertson  (the  beadle),  for 
working  at  the  kirk  four  dayis,       -        -        -140 

Given  to  Robert  Cuthbertson  and  ane  boy  for 
carrying  the  red  out  of  the  kirk,      -  -080 

(Many   "  gentilmen   from   Ireland "   and   other 
strangers  in  necessity  helped.) 

For  hanging  the  belstring,  -        -        -        -      o  12     o 

Drinksilver  for  5  cairts  in  Easthouses  for  bring- 
ing hame  timber  to  the  kirk,  -        -         -         -too 
5  May      Given  to  ane  Hungarian  scholler,      -        -        -      2  13    4 

14  July      Mair  given  be  the  baily  out  of  his  own  purse 

to  two  poor  women  in  necessity,  at  command 
of  the  minister,         -                          -        -        -      o  16     8 
18  Aug.       Given  to  a  daft  man, 040 

1645. 

10  March  The  whilk  day  taken  out  of  the  poor's  box,  at 
command  of  the  minister,  to  pay  for  glas  win- 
dows to  the  kirk, ,£90  oo  oo 

(The  Wester  loft  seems  to  have  been  built  about 

this  time.) 
i  June       Mair  to  the  two  fishars  wyffes  (often  entered),  -       i  13     4 

,,  Mair  to  the  Egiptians, o  16    8 

3  Aug.        Distribut  for  John  Gillies  his  wyff,   and  boy, 

that  died  first  in  the  visitation,       -         -         -      8  10    o 
(Frequent  entries  connected  with  this  visitation 

of  the  Pest.) 
20  Aug.        Mair  given  to  William  Hamilton  for  his  extra- 

ordinar  pains  in  wryting,         -        -        -         -800 
,,  Mair  given  to  James  Gilchrist  for  making  the 

prese  in  the  Kirk  for  to  keip  the  Buiks  given 
to  the  Kirk  be  the  richt  Nobill  William  Earle 

of  Lothiane, 800 

,,  Mair  to  doctour   for   visiting   James   Watson's 

daughter,  after  her  depairting,       -        -        -      6  13    4 
„  Mair  for  aill  to  the  seik,  -  i  13     4 

,,  Mair  for  200  panther  naillis  for  the  prese  to 

hold  the  buiks  in,     -         -  i     6    8 

„  3  gallons  aill,       -  -         -       i   12     o 

,,  7  fir  lots  meill,  n     4    o 

15  Deer.     Nyne   gallons   aill,   5   dusson   breid,    for   those 

under  visitation,         -  -  6  16     o 

,,  Four  gallons  4  pynts  aill,  -  280 

,,  Four  dusson  breed,  -  i  12     o 

,,  Ane  boll  and  2  peks  meill,  -  6  15    o 

28  Dec.      To  Richard  Brown,   for  making  seven  graves 

to  John  Cairn's  house, 400 

(The  Dalkeith  communion  cups  seem  to  have  been  borrowed  on 
Sacramental  occasions  previously  to  the  year  1646  :  entries  occur  of 
gratuities  to  "  Dalkeith-belman  "  for  the  loan.) 

The  printed  copy  of  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  [Edinburgh, 
1643],  and  now  in  tne  Royal  Antiquarians'  Society's  Museum,  cost 
Newbattle  Parish  4/,  and  bears  the  signatures  of  Leighton,  heritors, 
and  parishioners,  as  affixed  in  October,  1643. 


(187) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

ARCHBISHOP  LEIGHTON'S  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

Some  years  ago  a  handsome  brass  memorial  was  erected 
in  the  parish  church  of  Newbattle,  beside  the  ancient  black 
oak  pulpit  from  which,  during  his  incumbency  of  the  parish 
(1641-1653),  Leighton  was  wont  to  preach.  The  inscription, 
which  gives  the  main  events  of  his  life,  is  as  follows  :— 

To  the  glory  of  God,  and  sacred  to  the  memory  of 
Archbishop  Leighton.  Robert  Leighton  was  born  in  London, 
1611  :  educated  at  Edinburgh  University,  and  on  the  Con- 
tinent :  ordained  pastor  of  this  parish  on  December  i6th,  1641, 
where  he  ministered  faithfully  till  1653.  Principal  of  Edin- 
burgh University,  1653-1661 ;  Bishop  of  Dunblane,  1661-1671 ; 
Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  1671-1674;  after  which  he  retired 
into  private  life,  and  lived  with  his  sister  at  Broadhurst,  in 
Sussex,  for  ten  years.  He  died,  according  to  his  long  cher- 
ished wish,  in  an  Inn  (the  Bell  Inn,  Warwick  Lane,  London), 
by  night,  during  his  sleep, — June  25th,  1684;  and  was  buried 
in  the  Parish  Church  of  Horsted  Keynes,  Sussex.  Blessed 
are  the  Peacemakers.  For  so  He  giveth  His  Beloved  Sleep." 

In  Horsted  Keynes  Church,  two  memorials  are  raised 
to  his  memory,1  and  the  old  farm-house  is  still  pointed  out 
where  he  stayed ;  though,  curiously,  in  the  diary  of  Mr  Giles, 
who  was  rector  there  during  Leighton 's  residence,  there  is  no 
reference  to  him.  Two  memorials  stand,  one  within  and  the 
other  outside  the  parish  church  there,  and  the  tradition  is  still 
fresh  there  that  he  would  always  go  to  church,  especially  on 
wet  days,  as  an  example  to  others.  The  Bell  Inn,  under  the 
shadow  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  beside  Amen  Corner,  where 
the  Cathedral  Canons  lived,  has  only  within  recent  years  been 
transformed  :  the  memory  of  Leighton  still  lingers  round  the 
place.  Newbattle  was  his  first  charge, — and  the  following 
are  all  the  traces  that  can  now  be  gathered  up  of  his  presence 
and  influence  here  : — 

i.  His  old  Pulpit :  a  small  round  oak  pulpit  with  canopy; 
handsomely  carved,  and  originally  without  a  seat. 

'•  "His  remains  were  deposited  in  the  south  chancel  of  the  Church 
of  Horsted  Keynes,  in  the  county  of  Sussex,  in  which  parish  he  had 
resided  for  several  years  with  his  sister  and  her  son,  Edward  Light- 
maker  of  Broadhurst.  A  plain  marble  slab  bears  this  inscription  : — 

DEPOS1TVM  ROBERTI  LEIGHTONI,  ARCHIEPISCOPI  GLASGUENSIS  APVD  SCOTOS, 
QUI    OBIIT   XXV    DIE   JUNII    ANNO    DNI.    1684   AETATIS    SUAE   74"    (Notice   of 

Leighton  by  David  Laing  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society,  vol.  iv. 
p.  488). 


ARCHBISHOP  LE1GHTON  AND  HIS  NEWBATTLE  LIBRARY. 

2.  The  ancient  Hour  Glass ;  it  is  still  entire,  sand  and 
everything,    and   stands   about    8    inches    high.     The   wooden 
frame  is  very  rude,  as  is  also  the  rough  iron  stand. 

3.  The  ancient  Funeral  Bell,  which  was  rung  through  the 
parish  when  a  funeral  was  about  to  take  place;  the  handle  is 
an  imitation,  in  iron,  of  a  leg-bone.     On  the  front  of  the  bell, 
— i  M  A  1616.     Also  the  ancient  church  key  of  iron,   sadly 
worn  and  rusted. 

4.  The  Sacramental  Vessels — 

(a)  Communion    Cups.        Communion    cups    of    solid    silver,     not 

moulded,  but  beaten  with  the  hammer ;  of  an  unusually 
graceful  shape — a  large  shallow  bowl  resting  on  a  richly 
carved  pedestal.  They  were  all  presented  to  the  church  dur- 
ing Leighton's  incumbency,  on  May  29,  1646,  by  Robert  Porte- 
ous,  younger,  Alexander  Kaitness,  Patrick  Ellis  of  South- 
syde,  and  Andro  Brysson.  They  are  still  (with  some  modern 
additions)  the  eucharistic  vessels  of  the  parish.  In  1732,  one 
of  these  massive  silver  chalices  was  stolen,  and  carried  off  to 
England.  In  1733  it  was  discovered  at  Newcastle,  though 
some  say  Newbottle  (near  Feiicehouses,  in  Durhamshire), — 
the  old  name  of  Newbattle  being  Newbottle  [the  new  resid- 
ence],— and  brought  back  damaged.  The  repair  of  it  cost 
£6,  6s.  Scots,  half  of  which  was  charged  to  "  James  Wilson, 
the  beadle."  The  marks  of  these  repairs  are  still  quite  notice- 
able. Round  the  lip  of  each  chalice  are  the  words — "  For  the 
Kirk  of  Newbatl " — the  name  being  spelt  differently  on  each 
cup.  The  cups  in  Dunblane  Cathedral  are  almost  identical. 

(b)  Baptismal  Vessels.     A  massive  silver  basin  and  beautiful  ewer, 

hammered  and  inscribed.  They  were  bought  by  the  Session, 
and  bear  the  inscriptions  : — "  Pereat  qui  amoverit  vel  in 
alium  usum  pervertit.'"  ["  Perish  the  man  who  bears  it  away, 
or  turns  it  to  another  use,"] — with  the  Scripture  texts  : — 
According  to  His  mercy,  He  saved  us  by  the  washing  of  re- 
generation and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  round  the 
edge  of  the  basin — Re-pent  and  be  ba-ptized  every  one  of  you 
for  the  remission  of  sins.  Though  not  in  actual  use  during 
Leighton's  incumbency,  the  baptismal  vessels  belonged  to  his 
period,  and  were  bought  during  his  lifetime,  during  the 
second  episcopacy,  1680. 

5.  Parish  and  Presbytery  Records. — There  are  many  re- 
ferences to  Leighton,   and  some  in  his  own   writing,   in  the 
Session  Records.     In  the  Presbytery  books  there  is  much  con- 
cerning him. 

6.  Leighton's  Newbattle  Library. — Thirty-one  volumes  are 
preserved  of  Leighton's  Library,  and  are  handed  down  from 
incumbent  to  incumbent,  just  as  at  Salton  with  the  library  of 
Bishop   Burnet.     Many  of  the  books  are  much  spoiled  with 
damp,  but  they  are  as  a  whole  of  matchless  interest.     Some 
of  them  seem  to  have  been  presented  to  him  as  minister  by 
William,  Earl  of  Lothian,  with  whom  he  was  on  terms  of  the 
closest  friendship,  and  intended  to  be  handed  on  to  his  suc- 

(189) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

cessors.  In  the  Session  Records  there  is  an  entry, — "  List  of 
books  given  by  the  Earl  of  Lothian  to  the  Minister  of  New- 
battle."  But  the  list  is  gone, — only  the  title-page  being  left. 
Many  of  the  present  books  must,  from  their  internal  character, 
have  been  gathered  by  Leighton  himself.  All  the  books,  how- 
ever, were  acquired  by  Leighton  when  minister  at  Newbattle, 
whether  by  gift  or.  purchase,  so  that  the  entire  collection  is 
entitled  to  the  name  of  "  Leighton's  Newbattle  Library." 
When  Leighton  left  Newbattle  for  the  Edinburgh  Principal- 
ship,  he  left  these  volumes  behind  him  : — 

1.  "Clavis  Theologica."       Folio.       "A  Key  to  Theology."       A 
thick  folio  volume  of  blank  pages  with  printed  headings  :  a  religious 
common-place  book  and  theological  ledger — in  which  to  put  down  any- 
thing striking  in  the  course  of  reading.     A  score  of  pages  are  torn 
out  from  the  beginning,  and  in  the  pages  left  there  is  not  a  single 
MS.  entry.     The  first  remnant  page  is  headed — "Whether  Christ  died 
for  all  men  or  not?"     The  first  twenty  pages  have  the  general  head- 
ing— "  De  Christo,"  and  there  are  spaces  for  notes  on  His  Nativity, 
Death,   Resurrection,   &c.     Then   the   Sacraments,    Church,   the   Com- 
mandments, &c.     It  is  pre-eminently  a  young  man's  book  and  study- 
companion, — a  methodical  help  to  reading  and  meditation.     Why  there 
are  no  entries  it  is  difficult  to  say ;  perhaps  Leighton  hit  upon  some 
better  and  less  laborious  method ;  but  his  Theological  Lectures  and 
Commentaries  show  deep  research,  and  contain  crowds  of  learned  re- 
ferences which  could  not  have  been  gathered  in  a  day,  but  must  have 
been  the  savings  and  accumulations  of  years  of  study.     This  has  a 
peculiar  interest,  as  probably  one  of  Leighton's  earliest  intellectual 
tools. 

2.  "  Doctrinale  Bibliorum   Harmonicum,   id  est   Index   dilucidus 
Novus, — athore  Georgio  Vito  D.   Abbate  coenobii  Anhusani  Wirtem- 
bergici." — Winteri,    1613.     Folio.     A    Harmony   of   the    Bible.     Each 
book  of  the  Bible  is  taken  separately,  and  its  chief  doctrinal  points 
are  alphabetically  arranged.     There  is  thus  a  doctrinal  concordance 
for  each  book  of  Scripture,  and  not  for  the  whole  Bible,  as  in  modern 
concordances.     This  copy  bears  marks  of  use,  and  there  are  oil  stains 
on  its  pages  from  the  old  Scotch  cruizies,  which  were  universal  in 
Leighton's  time.     The  author  of  this  concordance  was  George  Vitus, 
Lutheran  Abbot  of  Wurtemberg. 

3.  "Thesaurus  Locorum  Communium." — Augustinus  Marloratus. 
Folio,   1574.     A  dictionary  of  common  places,  or  concordance  to  the 
whole  Bible,  not  taking  the  books  separately,  as  in  the  last,  but  all 
Scripture  in  a  mass.     Not  only  are  references  given  as,  e.g.,  under  P 
— Pax — to  all  the  places  where  "peace"  occurs  in  the  Bible,  but  illus- 
trations are  given  in  a  freer  and  more  general  way  than  is  common 
in  modern  concordances.     It  is  remarkable  that,  under  this  word,  the 
pages  are  much  worn,  and  bear  marks  of  much  reading — which  is  in 
keeping  with  the  character  of  the  man  to  whom  the  book  belonged. 
This  Biblical  Cyclopaedia  is  by  Marloratus,  Reformed  pastor  in  Rot- 
terdam.    At  the  beginning  of  the  volume  are  a  number  of  Latin  poems 
laudatory  of  the  learning  of  this  great  Biblical  Scholar.  There  is  also  a 
sentence  or  two  of  commendation  from  the  Reformer  Beza.     It  bears 
the  imprimatur  of  Parker,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  given  at  Lam- 
beth Palace,  1573. 

4.  The  "  Magdeburg  Centuries."     Folio.     Leighton's  handbook  en 
general  Church  History,  written  by  Matthew  Flacius  of  Maldeburg, 
and  still  an   authoritative  work  of  reference.     The   History  of  the 

(190) 


ARCHBISHOP  LE1GHTON  AND  HIS  NEW  BATTLE  LIBRARY. 

Church  is  traced  from  the  beginning  till  the  dawn  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

5.  "Joannis  Baptistae  Folengii  Mantuani,  Divi  Benedicti  monachi, 
in  Psalmos  aliquot  juxta  Hebraeam  veritatem  commentarius."     [Title- 
page   lost.]     Folio.     A   commentary   on   certain    Psalms   according   to 
the  Hebrew  Text,  by  Spitel  of  Mantua.     The  finest  volume  in  the  col- 
lection ;  it  must  once  have  been  really  a  handsome  folio.     It  has  richly 
gilded  edges,  and  is  bound  in  particularly  fine  leather,  which  also  has 
once  been  gilt.     The  author's  name,   "  John  Spitel,"  is  done  in  gilt 
on  front  and  back.     Spitel  was  a  monk  of  the. monastery  of  Mantua, 
and  his  commentary  on  the  Psalms  is  richly  devotional,  many  passages 
reminding  one  of  Leighton's  own  sublime  strain  of  discourse.     He  may 
have  received  some  of  this  style  from  his  old  devotional  commentary, 
which  was  a  standard  work  in  its  day.     Leighton  was  accused  of  har- 
bouring  and   using   ascetical   and   Roman   Catholic  books,   as   Bishop 
Butler  was  in  a  later  century ;  and  in  this  small  Newbattle  Library, 
there  is  a  good  sprinkling  of  works  by  Roman  Divines.     One  peculi- 
arity of  this  book  is,  that  each  page  is  lined  and  bordered  with  red 
ink,  evidently  done  by  the  hand,  which  must  have  been  an  immense 
labour,  as  there  are  over  1000  pages. 

6.  Osiander's — (a)   "  Summaries  of  XVIth   Century  Church   His- 
tory."    "  Epitomes    Historian   Ecclesiastics   centuriae   decimae   sextae." 
Lucas  Osiander,  D.  Tubingen,  1508.     (b)  "  Summaries  of  XVth  Cen- 
tury Church   History."     Ditto.     Tubingen,    1507.     Osiander's   "  Sum- 
maries of  Church  History,"  a  well-known  standard  narrative  of  the 
Reformation  age,  with  all  its  wars  and  controversies. 

7.  "  D.  Hieronymi  Osorii  Lusitani,  Episcopi  Sylvensis,  de  Regis 
Institutionibus  et  Disciplina,  Lib.  viii.     Olysippone,  1571."     Osorius, 
the  Spanish  Jesuit's  treatise  on  "The  Institutions  and  Discipline  of 
a  King,"  published  in  Portugal  in  1571,  with  the  Pope's  imprimatur 
printed  on  it,  and  dedicated  to  Sebastian,   King  of  Portugal.     This 
work  on  monarchy,  from  a  very  high  and  "Divine-right"  point  of 
view,  is  bound  in  skin  vellum,  with  rich  gilt  facings,  and  it  has  once, 
been  tied  with  green  ribbons,  the  ends  of  which  still  remain.     There 
are  jottings  by  "R.L."  on  the  fly-leaf. 

8.  Complete  Catalogue  of  the  Books  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  1620. 
In  some  respects  the  most  interesting  volume  in  the  library — a  small 
quarto,  in  vellum,  containing  a  catalogue  of  all  the  books  and  MSS. 
in  the  Oxford  Bodleian  Library  in  1620   (which  is  the  date  on  this 
copy),  published  at  Oxford,  by  John  Lichfield  and  James  Short.     Pos- 
sibly  Leighton   may   have   brought   this   old   catalogue   to   Newbattle 
from  Oxford  with  his  own  hand ;  but  on  the  fly-leaf  there  is  a  faded 
jotting  : — "  1625,  Mr  Cheyne,  Parson  of  Kinkell.     Aet.  40  yrs."  and 
a  very  striking  coincidence  is  here.     The  parish  of  Kinkell,  Aberdeen- 
shire,  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century  had  a  series  of 
mishaps,  and  hence  also  probably  the  name  on  the  book,  and  its  pre- 
sence in  Leighton's  Newbattle  Library.     It  is  very  remarkable  that 
in  this  catalogue  Shakespeare  is  not  named,  and  John  Knox's  works 
are  marked  "  imperfect."     It  is  curious  to  see  who  are  named  and  who 
are  omitted. 

9.  Philosophia    digne    restituta  :    libros    quatuor    praecognitorum 
philosophicorum  complectens,   a  Johanne-Henrico  Alstedio,   ad  illus- 
trissimam    Anglorum   Academiam    quae    est    Cantabrigias.     Herbornas 
Nassoviorum,  1612."     John  Henry  Alsted's  "  Philosophy."     A  logical 
and  philosophical  work — a  strange  mixture  of  metaphysics,  theology, 
logic,  and  psychology. 

10.  Locorum  Communium  S.  Theologia;  Institutio  per  Epitomen, 
Auctore   Luca   Trelcatio,    judice   ecclesiae   Rom."     London,    1608.     A 
small  volume  of  theology,  logically  arranged,  from  a  strongly  Pro- 
testant point  of  view.     Published  in  London,   1608.     It  is  bound   in 
vellum,  and  has  a  complete  index  written  in  Leighton's  own  hand- 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

writing — the  same  handwriting  as  on  other  books  here,  and  at  Dun- 
blane, where  his  great  library  exists.  It  is  an  interesting  study  in 
caligraphy. 

n.  Speculum  Pontificum  Romanorum  in  quo  imperium,  decreta, 
vita,  prodigia,  interitus,  elogia  accurate  proponuntur,  per  Stephanum 
Szegedinum  Pannonium,"  1526.  "View  of  the  Roman  Pontificate, '' 
by  Stephen  Szegedinus  of  Pannonia.  "The  Roman  Pontificate  is  de- 
scribed with  grotesque  fulness — "  Its  Rule,  Decrees,  Life,  Wonders, 
Death,  and  Elegy  accurately  laid  out."  It  is  a  strongly  Protestant 
handbook,  but  has  nothing  else  particularly  interesting  about  it. 

12.  "  Analysis    Logica    in    Epistolam   ad    Hebraeos,    Auctore    D. 
Roberto  Rolloco  Scoto,   Ministro  Jesu   Christi  et  Rectore  Academiae 
Edinburgensis."     "  Logical  Analysis  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews," 
by  Dr   Robert   Rollock,    Principal  of   Edinburgh   University.     Edin- 
burgh (R.  Charteris,  King's  Printer,   1605).     It  was  under  Principal 
Rollock's  rule  that  Leighton's   father  was  a  professor,   and  not  im- 
probably this  little  commentary  on  the   "  Hebrews "   may  have  been 
presented  by  the  Principal  and  inherited.     The  most  touching  thing 
about  it  is  that  on  the  front  page,  a  text  written  in  Latin  in  the  same 
hand  as  all  the  rest,  is  inscribed,  and  with  the  faded  initials  "R.L." 
after   it  : — "  God   forbid   that   I   should   glory,   save   in   the   cross   of 
Jesus  Christ." 

13.  S.  Chrysostom's  Works  in  Latin.     Antwerp,  1547.     With  some 
letters  on  the  fly-leaf  in  another  hand  (a  sort  of  shorthand) — and  the 
word — "  Jonathan." 

14.  Jobi  Historiae  Docta  et  catholica  explicatio  per  R.  Patrem  D. 
Joannem   Ferum    Metropolitanae   Ecclesiae    Moguntinensis.     Coloniae 
Agrippinae,    1574.     A   Roman    Catholic   Exposition   of    "Job,"    "not 
only  to  teach  true  doctrine,  but  to  heal  controversies,"  by  John  Ferus, 
Bishop  of  Mentz. 

15.  "  Illustrium  et  clarorum  virorum  epistolae  selectiores."     Lug- 
duni  Bataviorum,   1617.     Elzevir  Edition.     "The  Letters  of  Famous 
and  Illustrious  Men,"  showing  the  abuses  of  the  Roman  Church,  &c., 
are  well  known. 

16.  Cornelius   Crocus.     Philology  and   Rhetoric.     Discussions  on 
words  and  meanings.     Partly  bound  in  an  old  vellum  will,  beginning 
— "  Milhelmus."     Curious  old  writing,  and  rich  illuminations,  with 
beautiful  initial  letters. 

17.  Calvin's  "Commentary  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles"  (Latin). 
(Much  damaged  and  beardless.) 

18.  Claudian's  Works,  1612,  with  Latin  commentary  on  the  poet. 
Editor — Caspar  Barthius.     (Much  damaged  and  beardless.) 

19.  "  De    Prima    Mundi   Aetate,"    by   Lambert   Danalus.        Four 
books,  1590.     "  Concerning  the  First  Age  of  the  World."     (Beardless.) 

20.  Papa   Confutatus,   sanctae   et   apostolicae   ecclesiae   in   con- 
futationem  papae."     London,   1580.     Bound  in  a  sheet  of  vellum  il- 
luminated in  black  and  red  lettering ;  fine  initials.     Protestant  contro- 
versy. 

21.  "  De  Arcanis  Dominationis  Arn.  Clapmarii,"  Lib.  iii.  Arnold 
Clapmarius.        "  Concerning   the   Mysteries   of   Government."       And 
bound  up  with  it  in  thick  vellum  are  Casanbon's  Works  :     "  Isaaci 
Casauboni  ad  Frontonem  Ducaeum,  S.  J.  Theologum  Epistola,  in  qua 
de    Apologia    disseritur    communi    Jesuitarum    nomine    ante    aliquot 
menses    Lutetiae    Parisiorum    Edita."        London,    1611 — (vellum   and 
strings).     The  latter  treatise  is  peculiarly  interesting  as  an  indication 
of  Leighton's  affinity  with  the  great  scholars  of  the  period  who  were 
being  gradually  drawn  towards  Episcopac}7.     Casaubon  as  a  Contin- 
ental Presbyterian  who  was  attracted  by  the  Church  of  England,  might 
naturally  be  a  favourite  author  with  Leighton. 

22.  Theodore  Beza's  Works.     Geneva,   1588;  and  bound  up  with 
it  a  History  of  the  Reformers,  with  fine  engravings — the  only  book  in 

(192) 


ARCHBISHOP  LEIGHTON  AND  HIS  NEW  BATTLE  LIBRARY. 

the  whole  collection  which  has  plates.  Fine  heads  of  Huss,  Savon- 
arola, Bucer,  &c.,  and  a  full  narrative  of  the  Waldenses,  especially 
the  burnings  of  1559,  closing  with  "Emblems,"  and  pictures  with 
descriptive  poetry  below,  like  Quarles'  "  Emblems,"  &c.,  e.g.  —  "  Life 
a  Sea,"  —  and  a  representation  of  a  ship  ploughing  its  way  amid  "  the 
troublesome  waves  of  this  present  world." 

23.  Raymund  Lullius'  Works.  "Ars  magna."  —  Treatises  on  logic, 
rhetoric,  astrology,  science,  —  a  general  gazetteer  and  emporium  of 
knowledge.  A  very  fine  copy,  bound  in  vellum,  with  strings,  of  date 


24.  "  A  Commentary  on  the  Galatians,"  by  Dr  Martin  Luther. 
London,  1603,  printed  in  black  letter. 

25.  A  volume  of  loose  Tracts  and  Papers  bound  together  —  valuable 
but  sorely  spoiled  by  damp  and  mice.     One  of  the  tracts  is  entitled  — 
"  Christ  Confessed,  or  several  important  questions  and  cases  about  the 
Confession  of  Christ,  written  by  a  Preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and  now  a 
Prisoner,"  —  written  by  a  Covenanter.     Also—"  The  Charge  of  High 
Treason,    Murder,    Oppressions,    and   other    Crimes   exhibited   to   the 
Parliament  of  Scotland,  against  the  Marquis  of  Argyle  and  his  Accom- 
plices."    January  23,  1646.     And  a  large  number  of  other  Covenanting 
papers  and  tracts,  including  a  tract  on  the  persecutions  of  the  Quakers, 
by  Alexander  Jaffray,    Provost  of  Aberdeen,  —  the   great  advocate  of 
the  Quakers,  and  several  times  Commissioner  to  Parliament.     Jaffray, 
for  several  years,   lived  in  an  old  house  in  Newbattle,   next  to  the 
manse,  now  pulled  down,  having  married  the  daughter  of  Leighton's 
predecessor,  the  Rev.  Andrew  Cant,  who  afterwards  became  minister 
at  Aberdeen.     Leighton's   strong   advocacy  of  Peace  in  the  troubled 
times  of  Episcopal  and  Presbyterian  rivalry  arose  from  —  (i)  His  close 
friendship  with  the  Quaker  Jaffray,  his  next  door  neighbour  ;  (2)  His 
early  education  in  France,  where,  for  nearly  ten  years,  till  the  age 
of  30,  when  he  was  appointed  Minister  of  Newbattle,  he  associated 
with  the  French  Quietists,  of  whom  Fenelon  and  Madame  Guyon  may 
be  taken  as  fair  examples,  and  whose  salient  doctrine  was  that  where 
religion  does  not  work  peace  with  God,  peace  with  man,  and  peace  in 
the  soul,  it  accomplishes  nothing;   (3)   His  own  innate  spiritual  ten- 
dencies, to  some  extent  mystical,  fostered  too  by  his  study  of  Roman 
Catholic  mystical  and  spiritual  writers  ;  (4)  A  reaction  from  the  fierce 
spirit  of  unrest  and  storm  in  the  midst  of  which  he  lived;  (5)  To  some 
extent  the  pacifying  influence  of  the  calm,  beautiful  scenery  in  the 
midst  of  which  his  lot  was  cast,  first  at  Newbattle  with  its  matchless 
woodlands  and  rich  historic  associations,  and  then  at  Dunblane  with 
its  noble  reposing  mass  of  cathedral  masonry. 

26.  "  The  Perpetuall  Government  of  Christ's  Church,"  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Bilson,  Warden  of  Winchester  College.     Bilson  was  one  of 
the  first  of  Anglican  High  Churchmen.     This  book  on  Episcopacy  was 
published  at  London  in  1593,  by  Christopher  Baker,  Queen's  Printer. 
It  is  an  elaborate  argument  in  favour  of  bishops,  written  by  a  strong 
advocate  of  the  Episcopal  order. 

27.  A   little   French   Catechism    (fly-leaf   lost)  —  on   the    Christian 
Faith  from  the  French  Reformed  point  of  view.     At  the  end  are  the 
Ten  Commandments  put  into  verse,  and  a  tune  given,  the  music  being 
printed.     The  tune  is  still  a  well-known  one  to  us,  and  goes  very  well 
with  the  eight  verses  into  which  the  Ten   Commandments  are  com- 
pressed.    It  is  strange  to  read  that  old  music  out  of  this  battered  old 
book.     It  was  published  at  Lyons,  by  Jaques  Faure.     Bound  in  vellum, 
quartodecimo. 

28.  "A  Familiar  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans"  in 
French,  with  one  of  the  boards  covered  with  French  writing  —  probably 
the  work  of  some  Huguenot  Protestant.     Leighton  spent  his  youth  in 
France,  and  brought  this  and  other  French  volumes  over  with  him 
from  the  Continent  to  Newbattle. 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

29.  "  A  Replye  to  an  answer  made  of  Dr  Whitgifte,  against  the 
Admonition  to  the  Parliament,"  T.  C.  (probably  Thomas  Cartwright), 
Hooker's  opponent.     The  book,  at  any  rate — which  is  a  hot  one  against 
bishops  and  archbishops,   proving  them  unscriptural  to  the  author's 
complete  satisfaction,  and  treating  Archbishop  Whitgifte's  arguments, 
on  their  behalf,  in  the  most  scornful  manner, — is  thoroughly  in  Cart- 
wright's  style  and  spirit. 

30.  A  Work  on  Astrology,  Physiognomy,  Cheiromancy,  and  kin- 
dred arts.     This  is  one  of  the  most  curious  books  in  the  collection, 
being  full  of  woodcuts  and  designs  of  all  kinds.     The  astrological  sec- 
tion gives  rules  for  sketching  your  life-history  by  the  stars  on  the 
shortest  notice,  and  on  the  most  approved  principles;  that  on  Cheiro- 
mancy teaches  the  reader  how  to  tell  fortunes  from  the  palm — scores  of 
illustrations  being  given  of  variously  contorted  palms.     The  chapters 
on  Physiognomy  are  particularly  rich.     The  volume  really  consists  of 
two  works,  of  which  exact  details  are  appended  : — 

(1)  Johannes  Hoflerinus,  Justingensis  :  De  Compositione  aut  Fabrica 

Astrolabii  ejusdemque  usu  multifariisque  utilitatibus. 
Moguntise  :  Petrus  Jordan  :   1535.     Fol. 
Before  the  title  page  are  8  leaves  : 
(i)  Preliminary  title  with  woodcut  of  Time. 
(2,  3,  4)  Dedication  by  Petrus  Jordan  to  Ferdinand,  King  of  the 

Romans. 
(4-8)  Index. 

"  Prima  Pars,  de  Fabrica"  extends  to  f.  30,  recto. 
"SecundaPars.  de  Usu"  :  f.  30  obv. — f.  77  obv.  The  last  Prop. 

is  No.  45. 

Leaf  at  the  end  with  emblems  of  Fortune  within  an  architec- 
tural  framework,   and  the  colophon. 

The  work  appears  to  have  been  first  published  at  Oppenheim 
1512-13,  fol.  2nd  Edition,  Oppenheim  1524,  fol. 

(2)  Johannes  ab  Indagine  :  Introductiones  apotelesmaticoe  in  Chyro- 

mantiam,   Physiognomiam,   &c.  : 
Argentorati  :  Job.  Schottus  1541.     Fol. 
Title-page  with  portrait  of  author, 
p.p.  3-62.     Chiromantia  :  36  woodcuts  of  hands,  and  6  of  planets. 

—  63-76.     Physiognomia  :   22  heads. 

—  77-81.     Periaxiomata  de  faciebus  signorum. 

—  82-89.     Canones  oegritudinum. 

—  89-119.  Astrologia  naturalis. 

— 119-130.  De  judicio  complexionum. 

Leaf  at  end,  with  arms  of  the  author  on  the  front,  and  of  the 
printer  (Schottus)  at  the  back. 

The  book  appears  to  have  been  first  published  in  1522  :  at  Stras- 
burg  in  folio,  and  at  Frankfort  in  i2mo.  3rd  Edition,  Strasburg  1531, 
folio.  There  are  also  later  editions.  English  translation  by  Fabian 
Withers,  London,  Purforte,  1575. 

Another  relic  of  Leighton  of  great  interest  is  preserved  in 
the  National  Museum,  and  now  exhibited.  It  is  a  copy  of  the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  in  the  usual  printed  form  (Edin- 
burgh, 1643),  which  cost  the  parish  the  sum  of  4/,  and  contains 
on  the  blank  leaves  at  the  end  the  signatures  of  the  minister, 
heritors,  and  parishioners  of  Newbattle  in  October,  1643. 

It  may  be  repeated  that  the  present  parish  church  of 


ARCHBISHOP  LE1GHTON  AND  HIS  NEW  BATTLE  LIBRARY. 

Newbattle,  of  date  1727,  is  built  of  the  old  Abbey  stones, 
many  of  which  can  still  be  traced  in  the  walls  and  tower.  At 
the  dissolution  of  the  monastery,  the  Abbey  Church  was  pulled 
down,  and  rebuilt  about  200  yards  off.  This  was  Leighton's 
church.  In  1726  it  was  again  shifted  another  200  yards  off,  and 
the  same  old  Abbey  stones  were  built  up  again  for  the  third  time. 
Though  the  present  church,  therefore,  is  not  Leighton's,  the 
stones  once  heard  his  voice,  and  the  monastic  voices  of  earlier 
days.  Part  of  the  present  manse  of  Newbattle  is  the  old 
parsonage  of  the  good  Archbishop;  his  dining-room,  bedroom, 
and  study  are  small,  quaint  rooms,  and  on  the  outside  stepped 
gable  is  the  inscription,  —  "  Evangelic  et  Posteris."  The 
London  coaches  ran  past  the  end  of  his  house  in  the  olden 
days,  and  made  their  first  stoppage  after  leaving  Edinburgh  at 
the  ancient  "  Sign  of  the  Sun  "  Inn,  which  is  still  standing, 
— a  most  interesting  old  building  facing  the  gates  of  New- 
battle  House.  The  window  of  Leighton's  parlour  looks  out  on 
beautiful  woodlands,  and  on  the  old  inn  which  may  have  sug- 
gested to  him  his  wish  to  die  in  an  inn.  Shenstone  at  a  later 
day  voiced  this  wish  in  his  well-known  verse,  scratched  on  a 
window  in  the  old  Red  Lion  Inn  at  Henley  with  a  diamond : — 

"Whoe'er  has  travelled  life's  dull  round, 

Where'er  his  wanderings  may  have  been, 
Will  sigh  to  think  he  still  has  found 
His  warmest  welcome  at  an  inn." 


XVI. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  NEWBATTLE 
COMMUNION  PLATE. 

NEWBATTLE  parish  has  had  three  successive  churches, 
-  first,    the    Abbey;    then    Archbishop    Leighton's 
church,  now  a  burying  vault ;  and  our  present  fabric, 
which  dates  from  1727.     The  earliest  mention  of  the 
communion  plate  is  in  connection  with  Alfred,   the 
second  Abbot  of  Newbattle,  who  in  1159  furnished  the  mon- 
astery with  several  silver  vessels  and  a  richly-embossed  silver 
chest  to  contain  articles  of  peculiar  value  and  sacredness. 

Then  there  is  a  dead  silence  of  two  hundred  years,  during 
which  we  hear  nothing  of  the  altar  vessels  and  plate  of  the 
great  monastery,  though  it  is  quite  certain  that  these  must  have 
been  largely  augmented  from  royal  and  princely  sources.  It 
was  the  mediaeval  custom  to  commemorate  any  great  benefit 
or  deliverance  by  a  gift  to  the  altar. 

In  1385  Richard  II.  and  his  uncle,  John  of  Gaunt,  in- 
vaded Scotland,  and  in  their  fiery  progress  northwards  wrecked 
the  finest  abbeys  and  churches  of  the  country,  up  to  Edin- 
burgh. The  old  Scottish  bard,  Wyntoun,  in  the  chapter  en- 
titled, "  When  Richard,  King  of  England,  burned  abbaies  in 
Scotland,"  describing  these  ravages,  says  : — 

With  all  their  men  the  way  they  took 
To  Scotland,  and  at  Melrose  lay  : 
And  there  they  burnt  up  that  abbey 
Dryburgh  and  Newbottle,  they  twa, 
Intil  their  way  they  burned  also. 
Of  Edinburgh  The  Kirk  burnt  they. 

Thus  Newbattle  Abbey  and  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Giles' 
("  The  Kirk  of  Edinburgh,"  as  it  was  always  called)  shared 
the  same  cruel  fate  from  the  same  ruthless  hands.  So  great, 
indeed,  was  the  havoc  done  to  the  latter  that  the  Town  Council 
and  Guilds  of  Edinburgh  all  contributed  handsome  sums  to- 
wards its  restoration.  Newbattle  Abbey  was  burned  to  the 
ground,  and  its  lofty  towers  and  spires  levelled  with  the  dust ; 
even  its  farms  and  granges  were  fired.  Some  of  the  monks 

(196) 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  NEWBATTLE  COMMUNION  PLATE. 

were  taken  prisoner,  and  the  few  who  were  allowed  to  remain 
among  the  smoking  ruins  were  obliged  to  sell  twenty-nine  mas- 
sive chalices,  besides  all  the  other  silver-plate  and  sacred  altar 
ornaments,  in  order  to  get  food.  Thus  the  accumulated  trea- 
sures of  more  than  two  centuries  were  scattered  and  irreparably 
lost.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years  the  monastery  was  rebuilt 
and  furnished  anew  with  altar  vessels,  of  less  worth  and  splen- 
dour, however,  than  of  old. 

On  the  3oth  of  September,  1390, — five  years  after  the 
dreadful  havoc, — Sir  James  Douglas,  of  Dalkeith,  made  a  will 
bequeathing  to  the  Monastery  of  Newbattle,  amongst  other  pro- 
perty, "  a  splendid  jewel,"  twelve  silver  dishes,  and  other 
plate,  on  condition  that  his  body  were  interred  beside  that  of 
his  wife  in  the  monastic  cemetery, — now  the  marquessial  gar- 
dens,— where,  besides  a  host  of  ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  sev- 
eral royal  personages  sleep. 

In  1479  Abbot  John,  desirous  of  perpetuating  his  memory, 
adorned  the  conventual  buildings  and  furnished  the  altars  with 
several  rich  chalices  and  ornaments. 

Again  the  old  place  had  trial  of  fire ;  the  English  destroyer 
came  up  once  more  in  his  bands  in  1550,  under  the  Earl  of 
Hertford,  and  wrecked  the  Abbey ;  but  history  is  altogether 
silent  as  to  the  fate  of  the  gold  and  silver  vessels.  Although 
even  then  the  Church  was  growing  corrupt,  and  ripening  for 
the  great  upheaval  of  the  Reformation,  there  were  still  those 
who  took  pleasure  in  the  old  Abbey  stones,  blackened  with 
English  smoke,  and  to  whom  her  very  dust  was  dear ;  and  with 
loving  hands  the  old  pile  was  reared  again,  and  the  voice  of 
devotion  was  heard  once  more  in  the  land.  And  then  the  Re- 
formation came,  and  Mark  Ker,  the  last  Abbot,  became  the 
first  Baron  of  Newbattle;  the  monks,  old  and  young,  were 
driven  away,  and  their  home  was  transformed  into  the  mansion- 
house. 

And  here  all  traces  of  the  plate  are  lost;  in  the  troubles 
of  the  time  many  of  the  Scottish  priests  and  monks  fled  to 
France,  and  to-day,  in  the  Scots  College  at  Paris,  there  are 
several  of  the  ancient  Scottish  communion  vessels, — amongst 
others,  some  of  those  of  Glasgow  Cathedral. 

After  the  Reformed  Church  of  Scotland  was  fairly  organ- 
ised, laws  were  enacted  requiring  every  church  to  furnish  itself 
with  "  large  silver  cups  "  for  the  communion  wine,  and  large 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

plates  for  the  bread.  Almost  all  the  old  parish  churches  of 
the  land  possess  these  original  vessels  still, — which  are  all  of 
the  same  general  pattern, — large  bowls  on  carved  pedestals. 
They  are,  as  a  rule,  of  the  purest  silver,  and  are  not  moulded, 
but  hammered  into  shape, — the  marks  of  the  hammer  being  still 
quite  distinct.  Such  churches  as  Trinity  College,  Old  Grey- 
friars',  and  St.  Giles',  in  Edinburgh,  still  possess  these  original 
Reformation  cups.  Our  cups  and  other  sacramental  plate  are 
not  of  so  early  a  date.  Up  till  1646  the  Dalkeith  plate  was 
borrowed  for  sacramental  occasions,  and  in  the  old  session 
records  are  frequent  entries  of  gratuities  to  the  "  Dalkeith 
belman,"  evidently  for  carriage.  But  in  that  year  our  New- 
battle  parishioners  made  a  gift  of  plate  to  the  Church. 

The  following  is  the  entry  in  the  Session  Records  regard- 
ing the  gift  of  communion  plate  to  Newbattle  in  1646  : — "  Re- 
cord of  wescheles  (vessels)  and  such  like  that  pertain  to  the 
parosch  of  Newbattle,  1646.  29  May.  The  whilk  day  was 
given  by  Robert  Porteous  younger  a  silver  cup  for  service  to 
the  Kirk.  Likewise  by  Alexander  Kaitnes,  another  of  the 
same  faschion.  Likewise  by  Patrick  Ileis  (Ellis)  of  South- 
syde." 

These  are  the  vessels  which  the  parish  now  possesses.  They 
are  of  chaste  and  beautiful  pattern;  the  marks  of  the  hammer 
are  quite  distinct  on  the  bowl,  and  on  each  of  them  are  in- 
scribed the  words,  "  For  the  Kirk  of  Newbotl," — the  proper 
name  being  spelt  differently  on  each  of  them. 

For  more  than  a  century  these  four  cups  and  other  vessels 
were  in  constant  use,  when,  in  1732,  one  of  the  cups  was  lost. 
There  was  a  mystery  about  its  disappearance,  and  for  a  whole 
year  its  fate  and  whereabouts  were  unknown.  In  1733  it  was 
found  at  Newcastle,  and  brought  back  damaged.  The  repair 
of  it  cost  £6,  6s.,  half  of  which  was  charged  to  "  James  Wil- 
son, the  beadle."  The  marks  of  these  repairs  are  still  quite 
noticeable. 

Ever  since,  these  chalices  have  been  used  at  every  sacra- 
ment regularly,  —  all  through  two  centuries,  —  up  to  Nov- 
ember, 1885.  Their  beautiful  pattern  has  been  much  admired, 
and  copies  of  them  have  been  executed.  Their  money  value 
is  very  great,  the  silver  being  of  the  purest ;  a  point  on  which 
our  pious  forefathers  were  most  scrupulous, — that  only  the 
best  should  be  given  to  God.  At  present  they  are  worth  more 
than  their  weight  in  shillings. 

(198) 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  NEWBATTLE  COMMUNION  PLATE. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Royal  Scottish  Society  of  Antiquaries, 
held  in  Edinburgh  some  years  ago,  a  paper  was  read  by  Sher- 
iff Macpherson  on  "  Certain  Communion  Cups  from  Duirinish, 
Skye."  A  large  collection  of  communion  chalices, — about  a 
hundred  in  all, — were  on  exhibition  to  illustrate  the  subject. 
It  was  a  strange  and  touching  sight.  Cups  from  the  Orkney 
Islands,  from  the  distant  Western  Isles,  from  town  and  country 
— all  stood  together,  probably  for  the  first  time  in  their  history, 
and  very  likely  for  the  last,  as  the  trouble  of  procuring  the 
vessels  «iust  have  been  enormous.  One  Orkney  minister  carried 
his  plate  with  his  own  hands  over  land  and  water  until  the 
Scottish  mainland  was  reached,  when  he  delivered  it  up  into 
responsible  hands.  Many  of  the  cups  were  similar  in  shape 
to  the  Newbattle  type,  which  was  the  prevalent  shape  of  the 
period,  and  is  seen  in  the  cups  of  St.  Giles',  St.  Cuthbert's, 
&c.  Others  were  more  of  the  wine-glass  shape.  Others  were 
set  on  tall,  tapering  pedestals,  richly  adorned,  these  being  as 
a  rule  pre- Reformation  vessels.  Two  or  three  were  just  big 
silver  tumblers;  while  some  from  the  far  north  were  made  of 
horn,  with  a  narrow  silver  edging.  The  Newbattle  cups  re- 
ceived special  mention  as  next  in  historical  interest  after  a 
magnificent  silver-gilt  chalice,  three  hundred  years  old.  Their 
association  with  Leighton  was  specially  referred  to. 

A  word  may  here  be  said  about  the  Newbattle  baptismal 
plate, — which  consists  of  a  massive  solid  silver  jug  and  basin. 
They  were  bought  on  March  20,  1681,  the  basin  weighing  "  36 
oz.  14  drops,  at  ^3,  123.  Scots  the  oz."  Round  the  edge  of 
the  jug  are  the  words,  '"  Repent  and  be  baptised  every  one 
of  you,  for  the  remission  of  sins." 

On  October  12,  1679,  four  flagons  of  two  pint  apiece 
were  bought,  costing  nine  pounds  Scots  each. 

These  sacramental  vessels  were  all  used  in  that  older  New- 
battle  church  which  succeeded  the  Abbey  as  a  parish  sanctuary, 
but  which  is  now  almost  obliterated,  save  for  the  small  part 
of  it  used  as  a  vault  for  the  house  of  Lothian.  It  will  ever  be 
something  to  remember  and  be  proud  of,  that  they  were 
handled  and  drunk  out  of  by  Leighton, — according  to  Principal 
Tulloch  and  Professor  Flint,  "  the  greatest  saint  that  Scotland 
has  had  since  the  Reformation." 

These  ancient  chalices  are  thus  not  without  a  history  of 
their  own ;  when  rubbed,  like  Aladdin's  lamp,  the  spirit  of  the 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

past  comes  out  and  stands  face  to  face  with  us.  They  were 
touched  by  the '  lips  of  Leighton ;  out  of  them  the  forefathers 
of  the  present  families  of  Newbattle  tasted  the  wine  in  which, 
year  by  year,  they  anew  pledged  themselves  to  Christ;  they 
were  probably  out  on  the  moors  at  the  Covenanting  communions 
on  the  Pentlands,  so  vividly  pourtrayed  in  the  well-known  en- 
graving. In  1888  a  fifth  cup  was  added  as  a  memorial  from 
the  Newbattle  congregation  to  the  late  Rev.  Dr  Thomas  Gordon 
(minister  of  Newbattle).  A  sixth  cup  was  recently  presented 
by  Mr  and  Mrs  Ebenezer  Dawson  of  Glenesk,  Dalkeith,  uni- 
form in  pattern,  style,  silver,  and  weight  with  the  ancient  ves- 
sels which  have  stood  the  wear  and  tear  of  time  so  wonderfully. 


(200) 


XVII. 

CHRONICLE  OF  THE  CLERGY  OF 
NEWBATTLE. 

FROM  1140  A.D.,  when  the  Abbey  of  St.  Mary,  New- 
bottle,  was  founded,  until  1560,  there  were  36  abbots, 
the  chronicle  of  whose  doings  is  briefly  recorded  in 
the  Chartulary  of  the  Abbey,  preserved  in  the  Advo- 
cates' Library  in  Edinburgh.     From  1560, — the  year 
of  the  Reformation,— until  to-day,  there  have  been  28  parish 
clergymen,  and  the  full  list  is  here  given,  with  a  few  historical 
notes  under  each  name. 
RALPH,  1140  or  1141.     A  youth  from  Melrose.     A  legendary  vision  of 

the  Evil  One  is  recorded  of  him. 

ALFRED,  1159.  Who  greatly  improved  the  Abbey,  and  died  i7th  Octo- 
ber, 1179. 

HUGH,  1179.  Famous  throughout  Scotland  as  a  "settler  of  contro- 
versies." Resigned  1201. 

ADAM,  1201.     "  Master  of  Converts."     Resigned  1213. 
ALAN,  1213.     Formerly  sub-prior  of  Melrose. 
RICHARD,  1214.     Formerly  cellarer  of  the  house. 
ADAM  DE  HALCARRES,   1216.     Formerly  cellarer,  afterwards  Abbot  of 

Melrose. 

RICHARD,  1218.     Master  of  Converts. 
RICHARD,  1220.     Received  Alexander  II.  on  igth  May,  1223;  his  Queen 

lies  buried  at  Newbattle,  as  well  as  that  of  David  II. 
CONSTANTINE,  1230.     Resigned  1236. 
RODGER,    1236.     From   Melrose;   cellarer   there;    afterwards  went   to 

France. 

WILLIAM,  1256.  Acquired  for  Abbey  properties  in  Leith  and  Greenside. 
ADAM,  1259.     From  Melrose ;  afterwards  Abbot  of  Melrose. 
GUIDO,  1261.     The  porter. 
PATRICK,  1269-72. 
WALTER,  1272. 

WALDEVE,  1273.     Cellarer  at  Melrose;  "  He  departed  to  the  Lord,  leav- 
ing his  house  in  full  peace,  and  excellent  condition." 
JOHN,   1275.     Did  homage  to  Edward   I.   in  prison.     His  seal  is  in 

Westminster  Abbey  Chapter-house. 

GERVASE,  1312.  Sat  in  Scotch  Parliament  at  Cambuskenneth  1314,  and 
Ayr,  1315 ;  present  at  Bannockburn,  where  several  churchmen 
fought,  and  the  Abbot  of  Inchaffray  blessed  Bruce  and  the  Scot- 
tish army. 

WILLIAM,  1328.     Got  privileges  from  Melville. 
ANDREW,  1330.     Commissioner  for  Pope. 

WILLIAM,  1350.     Commissioner  for  Pope  regarding  Paisley  Abbey. 
HUGH,   1360.     Monastery  burned  by  English  under  Richard  II.   and 

John  of  Gaunt. 

NICHOLAS,  1390.     Abbey  restored.     80  monks  and  70  lay  brethren. 
JOHN  GUGY,  1402. 
WILLIAM  MANUEL,  1413. 

(201) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

WILLIAM  HYREOT,  1458. 

PATRICK  MEADOW,  B.D.,  1460.  Royal  Commissioner  for  holding  and 
continuing  Parliament. 

JOHN  CRECHTOUNE,  1470.  Abbey  at  height  of  its  magnificence.  In 
Glasgow  University  records  he  is  referred  to  (1474) — "  A  venerable 
father  in  Christ,  John  Crechtune,  Abbot  of  the  Monastery  of  Neu- 
botil " ;  and,  in  the  same  year,  "  Patrick  Sluthman,  a  monk,  of 
his  convent." 

JOHN,  1479.  Greatly  adorned  Abbey.  In  his  reign  America  was  dis- 
covered. 

ANDREW,  1494. 

JOHN,  1512.  (Entertained  James  V.  22nd  April,  1526.)  The  King 
granted  the  monks  Prestongrange,  where  they  shipped  their  coals. 
Morison's  Haven  is  their  old  port,  as  the  "  Salters'  Road"  is  their 
old  highway  to  the  sea. 

EDWARD  SHEWILL,  1526.  Grants  feu-charter  for  Craighouse  lands  to 
Hugh  Douglas. 

JAMES,  1531.  Developed  coal  working  at  Newbattle.  Contracts  with 
Dunfermline  monks  regarding  Prestongrange  workings.  The 
Newbattle  abbots'  residences  at  Inveresk  are  still  standing, — now 
called  Halkston  House  and  Inveresk  Lodge,  containing  crypts, 
chambers,  and  subterranean  passages.  Prestongrange  Salt  Works 
and  Salters'  Road. 

JOHN,  1540. 

JOHN  HASWELL,  1542.  Abbey  burned  by  the  English  under  Earl  of 
Hertford.  The  Abbey  was  never  quite  rebuilt  again.  Remained 
Abbot  till  1547. 

MARK  KER,  1547.  (Son  of  Sir  Andrew  Ker  of  Cessford.)  Reformation, 
1560.  Mark  Ker  made  Commendator. 

After  the  dissolution  of  the  monastery,  a  period  of  ir- 
regularity seems  to  have  set  in,  and,  as  all  over  Scotland, 
worship  was  neglected,  morals  deteriorated,  and  religion  lan- 
guished. In  many  cases  the  doors  of  the  Parish  Churches 
remained  closed  for  years.  In  Knox's  "  First  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline," it  was  laid  down, — "  To  the  churches  where  no  mini- 
ster can  be  had  presently,  must  be  appointed  the  most  apt  men 
that  distinctly  can  read  the  common  prayers  and  the  Scriptures, 
to -exercise  themselves  and  the  church  till  they  grow  to  greater 
perfection ;  and  in  process  of  time,  he  who  is  but  a  reader  may 
attain  to  a  further  degree,  and  by  consent  of  the  church  and 
discreet  ministers,  may  be  permitted  to  minister  the  Sacraments, 
but  not  before  he  is  able  somewhat  to  persuade  by  wholesome 
doctrine  besides  his  reading,  and  be  admitted  to  the  ministry  " 
(iv.  5).  As  showing  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  suitable  clergy- 
men after  the  Reformation,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  1567 
the  Rev.  William  Knox,  nephew  of  John  Knox,  the  Reformer, 
was  appointed  to  minister  at  Cockpen,  in  the  old  church  now 
ruined,  and  at  the  same  time  to  have  pastoral  charge  of  Car- 
rington,  Temple,  and  Clerkington  (now  part  of  Temple)  par- 
ishes. The  first  settled  minister  after  the  Reformation  of  1560 
was  ADAM  FOULIS,  who  in  1570  was  translated  to  Newbattle 

(202) 


CHRONICLE  OF  THE  CLERGY  OF  NEW  BATTLE. 

from  Heriot.  In  1573  ROBERT  WILSON  was  translated  from 
Dalkeith  to  Newbattle.  In  1583  JOHN  HEREIS  was  translated 
from  Ormiston  to  Newbattle.  In  1606  ALEXANDER  AMBROSE, 
M.A.,  was  minister.  In  1615  JOHN  AIRD,  M.A.,  became  mini- 
ster, having  been  translated  from  Newton.  The  old  part  of 
the  present  manse  was  built  in  1625.  During  his  incumbency 
there  were  eight  or  nine  hundred  communicants  in  the  church, 
though,  of  course,  then  the  parish  was  without  quoad  sacra 
churches,  and  the  Newbattle  sacrament  was  a  great  occasion, 
not  only  for  the  parish,  but  the  district.  The  "Tent"  was 
erected  in  the  old  historic  churchyard,  and  immense  gatherings 
of  people  assembled  from  all  parts  to  participate  in  the  sol- 
emnities. In  these  days  neighbouring  churches  were  closed 
when  a  Sacrament  was  celebrated,  and  the  ministers  and  people 
of  their  churches  journeyed  to  the  place  where  the  Communion 
was  dispensed,  many  people  taking  Communion  on  suc- 
cessive Sundays  in  different  churches.  Doubtless  a  good  deal 
of  what  Burns  wrote  sarcastically  regarding  the  "  Holy  Fair  " 
was  true,  and  farm  servants  in  those  days  of  few  holidays 
used  to  stipulate,  on  taking  arles,  for  the  "Dalkeith  Fair  ;' 
and  "  Newbattle  Sacrament  "  as  days  of  freedom.  The  large 
table-shaped  tombstone  in  the  churchyard  which  covers  the 
ashes  of  the  Welshes  (Carlyle's  relations)  is  still  pointed  out 
as  having  been  used  on  these  occasions  as  a  table  for  refresh- 
ments. These  traditions  may  be  taken  for  what  they  are  worth. 
This  Mr  Aird  did  much  in  Newbattle  in  his  time  for  the  cause 
of  education,  there  being  at  his  induction  "  no  satled  schole  " 
in  the  parish.  Through  his  exertions,  Knox's  great  idea  of  a 
school  in  every  parish  as  well  as  a  church,  was  carried  out  in 
Newbattle.  He  was  a  man  "eminent  for  grace  and  gifts, 
faithfulness  and  success."  As  showing  the  social  state  of 
Scotland  at  the  time,  it  has  come  down  in  writing  that  he  had 
"  six  silver  spoons,  twa  silver  tassis,  and  some  broken  silver 
work."  Mark  Carse,  the  famous  "Laird  of  Cockpen,"  was 
his  intimate  friend,  and  also  the  Rev.  John  Knox,  minister  of 
Cockpen,  grand-nephew  of  the  Reformer  and  son  of  the  first 
reformed  parson  of  Cockpen.  The  "  funeral  bell,"  with  its 
iron  bone-shaped  handle,  which  used  to  summon  Newbattle 
parishioners  to  funerals,  still  exists,  and  bears  the  initials, 
"1616.  M.J.A.'—"  Minister,  John  Aird."  The  Rev.  AN- 
DREW CANT,  M.A.,  succeeded  Mr  Aird  in  1639  :  he  was  trans- 

(203) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

lated  from  Pitsligo,  but  remained  at  Newbattle  only  three 
years.  He  was  one  of  the  most  uncompromising  of  the  Coven- 
anters, and  forms  a  notable  figure  during  the  reigns  of  Charles 
I.  and  II.  It  was  he  who  was  sent  by  the  "  tables  "  (as  the 
Convention  of  the  National  Party  was  designated,  in  opposition 
to  the  Royalists)  to  Aberdeen  to  induce  the  inhabitants  to  sign 
the  Covenant,  and,  along  with  a  few  others,  zealously  promoted 
the  Covenanting  cause  in  the  north,  where  Episcopacy  was 
strong.  On  August  3oth,  1640,  he  was  with  the  army  when 
the  Scots  obtained  possession  of  Newcastle,  and  by  request  of 
the  army  preached  in  one  of  the  churches  of  that  city.  He 
loved  nothing  better  than  to  declaim  from  the  pulpit  against 
kings  and  magistrates,  and  though  often  taken  to  task  both  by 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  courts,  they  had  in  the  end  to  give  in 
to  this  determined,  dogged  Presbyterian  minister,  who  feared 
and  cared  for  nobody.  In  1640  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
ministers  of  Aberdeen,  and  left  Newbattle,  and  while  in  the 
northern  metropolis  he  ruled  the  church  with  a  rod  of  iron. 
Many  amusing  stories  are  told  of  him.  The  Aberdeen  people 
(never  very  keen  for  the  Covenant)  disliked  him  very  much, 
and  would  not  come  out  to  church  in  the  afternoon  to  hear  him, 
contenting  themselves  with  "half -day  hearing."  As  a  retalia- 
tion, and  in  order  to  compel  them  to  come  out  a  second  time, 
he  abstained  from  giving  the  congregation  the  blessing  at  the 
close  of  morning  worship,  and  so,  in  order  to  receive  the  bene- 
diction, they  were  forced  to  appear  at  the  afternoon  service. 
It  is  also  related  that  one  Sunday  afternoon  during  the  sermon, 
a  number  of  children  made  a  considerable  noise  outside  the 
old  church  of  St.  Nicholas  where  he  was  preaching,  and  Mr 
Cant,  getting  at  last  exasperated,  rushed  out  of  the  pulpit  and 
so  through  the  congregation  into  the  open-air,  where  he  engaged 
in  a  vigorous  chase  after  the  ingenuous  youth  of  the  city  where 
Jews  cannot  flourish,  and  having  dispersed  them,  returned  to 
the  pulpit,  and  taking  up  the  thread  of  his  discourse  where 
he  had  stopped  it,  finished  his  sermon.  It  is  related  that  the 
people  "  marvelled  greatly."  He  was  strongly  opposed  to  both 
Charles  I.  and  II.,  and  often  preached  before  the  Scots  Par- 
liament. At  the  Restoration  in  1660  he  was  charged  with 
sedition,  and  was  obliged  to  resign  his  ministry  at  Aberdeen. 
Addison  in  the  "  Spectator  "  says  (No.  147)  that  the  word 
"  cant  "  was  derived  from  this  minister's  name,  whom  he  de- 

(204) 


CHRONICLE  OF  THE  CLERGY  OF  NEWBATTLE. 

scribes  as  an  "  illiterate  man."  Cant's  son  became  afterwards 
(1772)  Episcopalian  Bishop  at  Edinburgh,  a  repetition  of  the 
Leighton  incident,  where  the  Presbyterian  father  and  martyr 
gave  his  son  as  a  bishop. 

In  1641,  after  Mr  Cant's  translation  to  Aberdeen,  ROBERT 
LEIGHTON  was  ordained  minister  of  Newbattle,  December  i6th. 
On  that  day  "  Mr  Jhone  Knox,"  nephew  of  the  Reformer, 
preached  before  a  large  congregation  gathered  within  the  old 
church  (of  which  only  a  fragment  remains  in  the  "  Lothian 
Vault")  a  sermon  on  Hebrews  xiii.  17, — "Obey  them  that 
have  the  rule  over  you  and  submit  yourselves  :  for  they  watch 
for  your  souls  as  they  that  must  give  account :  that  they  may 
do  it  with  joy  and  not  with  grief."  The  ecclesiastical  steps 
connected  with  Leighton's  election  are  recorded  in  the  records 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Dalkeith,  as  follows  : — 

"Dec.  2,  1641.  Compeared  ye  parishioners  of  Newbottle  and 
testified  their  accepting  Mr  Robert  Lichtoune  to  be  their  minister." 

"Dec.  7,  1641.  Returned  Mr  Robert  Lichtoune  his  two  theses 
[i.e.  trial  sermons]  :  endorsed.  Compeared  ye  parishioners  of  New- 
bottle  and  accepted." 

"  Dec.  16.  Admission  Mr  Robert  Lichtoune.  Whilk  day  (being 
appointed  for  ye  admission  of  Mr  Robert  Lichtoune)  preached  Mr 
Johne  Knox  :  Hebrews  13,  17.  Whilk  day  after  sermon,  Mr  Johne 
Knox  put  to  Mr  Robert  Lichtoune  and  ye  parishioners  of  Newbottle, 
sundry  questions,  competent  to  ye  occasion,  and  after  imposition  of 
hands  and  ye  solemne  prayer,  was  admitted  minister  at  Newbottle. 
Absent  Mr  James  Porteous,  elder.  Mr  Robert  Rodger  to  intimate  on 
Sunday  next  ye  translation.' 

The  following  list  of  some  of  the  members  of  Dalkeith 
Presbytery,  while  Leighton  was  at  Newbattle,  has  been  gather- 
ed together  out  of  the  dim  and  faded  pages  of  the  Presbytery 
Records,  written  in  curious  twisted  hands,  and  the  ink  faded 
away  with  two  and  a  half  centuries  of  age  : — 

Rev.  Andro  Cant. 

Rev.  Oliver  Colt  (Inveresk). 

Rev.  Hew  Campbell. 

Rev.  John  Knox. 

Rev.  Wm.  Calderwood. 

Rev.  Patrick  Sibbald. 

Rev.  J.  Gillies  (previously  Bishop  of  Argyle),  Lasswade. 
Revs.  Adam  and  Gideon  Penman ;  Mr  Robert  Couper ;  Mr  James 
Porteous,  elder  at  Newbattle  (this  James  Porteous  was  a  bailie  in 
Newbattle,  and  presented  one  of  the  four  silver  Communion  cups 
gifted  to  the  church  during  Leighton's  ministry.  He  was  the  ances 
tor  of  the  famous  Dr  Beilby  Porteous,  Bishop  of  London,  whose 
work  on  Christian  evidences  is  still  a  standard  one.  It  is  believed 
his  family  came  to  this  district  originally  from  Jamaica) ;  John 
Logan ;  James  and  Alexander  Rotson,  elders. 

Archbishop  Leighton's  family  motto  was  "Light  on"; 
and  the  life-principle  of  this  old  Newbattle  minister  was  (to 

(205) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWB&TTLE. 

quote  a  few  of  his  own  sentences  which  deserve  to  be  written 
in  letters  of  gold),  "  Print  in  thine  heart  the  image  of  Jesus 
Christ  crucified, — the  impression  of  His  humility,  poverty, 
mildness,  and  all  His  holy  virtues.  Let  thy  thoughts  of  Him 
turn  into  affection  and  thy  knowledge  into  love."  "  Good 
words  do  more  than  hard  speeches,  as  the  sunbeams  without 
any  noise  will  make  the  traveller  cast  off  his  cloak,  which  all 
the  blustering  winds  could  not  do,  but  only  make  him  bind  it 
closer  to  him."  "  It  is  not  the  gilded  paper  and  good  writing 
of  a  petition  that  prevails  with  a  king,  but  the  moving  sense  of 
it.  And  to  that  King  who  discerns  the  heart,  heart-sense  is 
the  sense  of  all,  and  that  which  He  only  regards;  He  listens 
to  hear  what  that  speaks,  and  takes  all  as  nothing  where  that 
is  silent.  All  other  excellence  in  prayer  is  but  the  outside  and 
fashion  of  it;  this  is  the  life  of  it." 

A  full  life  of  the  good  Archbishop  is  given  elsewhere ; 
and  here  we  only  give  a  few  extracts  from  the  session-records 
of  the  parish,  written  during  his  incumbency  : — 

"  1643.  28  May.  Mair  to  Robert  Porteous  to  buy  ane  cave,  to 
keip  our  Communion  wyne  in — ^13  :  IDS. 

"  For  carrying  cave  from  Edinburgh — 6s. 

"  24  Septr.  Given  out  of  the  collections  for  ane  psalme-book  to 
serve  the  kirk,  and  for  binding  the  Bybill — ^3  :  153. 

"  22  Oct.     Given  for  the  Covenant — 43. 

"  10  Dec.  Mair  for  the  subscryving  (subscribing)  of  the  Cove- 
nant, to  the  Reidar  that  subscryvit  for  thes  that  could  not  subscryve 
themselffs — £i  :  IDS  :  4. 

"  1664.     May  5.     Given  to  ane  Hungarian  scholler — £2  :  13  :  4." 

[This  must  have  been  some  poor  student  from  Hungary  whom 
Leighton  took  by  the  hand  and  helped.] 

"  18  Aug.     Given  to  a  daft  man — 43. 

"  1645.     10  March.     Glas  windows  for  the  kirk — £go. 

"  i  June.     Mair  to  the  fishars'  wyffes  (often  entered) — £i  :  13  :  4. 

"  i  June.     Mair  to  the  Egyptians  (gipsies) — i6s.  8d. 

"  20  Aug.     Mair  for  aill  to  the  seik — £i  :  13  :  4." 

ALEXANDER  DICKSON,  M.A.,  succeeded  Leighton  in  1653, 
after  the  latter  had  left  Newbattle  to  become  Principal  of 
Edinburgh  University.  He  was  the  son  of  Dr  David  Dickson, 
Professor  of  Divinity  in  Edinburgh  University,  and  after  a  few 
years'  service  in  the  holy  ministry  at  Newbattle,  he  himself 
was  called  to  be  Professor  of  Hebrew  in  the  same  University 
as  his  father,  in  1657.  His  father  was  a  remarkable  figure 
in  Scottish  history,  having  been  a  persecuted  Covenanter,  ban- 
ished and  deprived,  and  having  also  taken  a  leading  part  in 
the  famous  Glasgow  Assembly  of  1638.  He,  along  with  Hen- 
derson and  Calderwood,  prepared  the  "  Directory  for  Public 

(206) 


CHRONICLE  OF  THE  CLERGY  OF  NEWBATTLE. 

Worship,"  and  "The  Sum  of  Saving  Knowledge."  He  is 
more  especially  famous  as  the  author  of  the  beautiful  hymn, 
"  O  mother  dear,  Jerusalem  !"  which  may  have  been  an  echo 
of  the  Elizabethan  priest's  poem,  "  Jerusalem,  my  happy 
home."  At  any  rate,  both  of  these  and  all  the  other  hymns 
of  this  type  (and  there  are  several)  are  begotten  of  an  ancient 
Latin  hymn  of  the  eighth  century  which  appeared  during  the 
pontificate  of  Urban  VIII., — the  hymn  for  the  dedication  of 
a  church, — "  Urbs  beata  Jerusalem,"  or  "  Caelestis  urbs  Jer- 
usalem,"— a  grand  old  rugged  hymn  of  the  early  Latin  Church, 
of  which  Dr  Dickson  gave  the  following  general  rendering  : — - 

"  O  mother  dear,  Jerusalem  ! 

When  shall  I  come  to  thee? 
When  shall  my  sorrows  have  an  end, 

Thy  joys  when  shall  I  see? 
O  happy  harbour  of  God's  saints  ! 

O  sweet  and  pleasant  soil  ! 
In  thee  no  sorrow  may  be  found, 

No  grief,  no  care,  no  toil ! 

"  In  thee  no  sickness  is  at  all, 

No  hurt  nor  any  sore; 
There  is  no  death,  or  ugly  sight, 

But  life  for  evermore. 
No  dimmish  clouds  o'ershadow  thee, 

No  dull  nor  darksome  night ; 
But  every  soul  shines  as  the  sun, 

For   God  himself   gives  light. 

"  There  lust  nor  lucre  cannot  dwell, 

There  envy  bears  no  sway ; 
There  is  no  hunger,  thirst,  nor  heat, 

But  pleasure  every  way. 
Jerusalem  !  Jerusalem  ! 

Would  God  I  were  in  thee, 
O  that  my  sorrows  had  an  end, 

Thy  joys  that  I  might  see. 

"  No  pains,  no  pangs,  no  grieving  grief, 

No  woeful  sight  is  there, 
No  sigh,  no  sob,  no  cry  is  heard, 

No  well-away  !  no  fear  ! 
Jerusalem  the  city  is 

Of  God  our  King  alone, 
The  Lamb  of  God,  the  light  thereof, 

Sits  there  upon  His  throne  ! 

"  O  God,  that  I  Jerusalem 

With  speed  may  so  behold ; 
For  why?  The  pleasures  there  abound 

With  tongue  cannot  be  told. 
Thy  turrets  and  thy  pinnacles 

With  carbuncles  do  shine; 
With  jasper,  pearl  and  chrysolite 

Surpassing  pure  and  fine. 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW'BOTTLE, 

"  Thy  houses  are  of  ivory, 

Thy  windows  crystal  clear, 
Thy  streets  are  laid  with  beaten  gold, 

Where  angels  do  appear ; 
Thy  walls  are  made  of  precious  stones, 

Thy  bulwarks  diamond  square, 
Thy  gates  are  made  of  Orient  pearl. 

O  God  !  if  I  were  there  ! 

"  There  David  sings  with  harp  in  hand, 

As  master  of  the  queir ; 
A  thousand  times  that  man  were  blest 

That  might  his  music  hear ; 
There  Mary  sings  Magnificat 

With  tunes  surpassing  sweet, 
And  all  the  virgins  bear  their  part, 

Singing  about  her  feet. 

"  There  love  and  charity  doth  reign, 

And  Christ  is  all  in  all ; 
Whom  they  most  perfectly  behold 

In  glory  spiritual. 
They  love,  they  praise,  they  praise,  they  love, 

They  '  Holy,  holy  '  cry ; 
They  neither  toil  nor  faint  nor  end, 

But  laud  continually. 

"  O  passing  happy  were  my  state 

Might  I  be  worthy  found 
To  wait  upon  my  God  and  King 

His  praises  there  to  sound  ! 
With  cherubims  and  seraphims 

And  holy  souls  of  men, 
To  sing  Thy  praise,  O  God  of  hosts, 

For  ever  and  amen." 

It  is  interesting  to  think  that  Leighton's  first  act  on  going 
to  be  Principal  of  Edinburgh  University,  was  to  send  the  pro- 
mising son  of  his  colleague  in  the  University  Chair  of  Divinity 
to  be  his  successor  at  Newbattle.  Doubtless  he  got  the  ap- 
pointment through  Leighton's  influence. 

1657.  During  a  period  of  national  confusion,  when  the  Covenant- 
ing struggle  was  at  its  height,  calls  were  made  to  several  ministers 
to  fill  Mr  Dickson's  office — amongst  others  to  HEW  ARCHIBALD, 
who,  however,  was  rejected  for  vitiating  his  testimonial.  He 
however  served  the  cure  for  some  time. 

1660.  GEORGE  JOHNSTON,  A.M.,  was  translated  from  the  parish  of 
Lochrutton  to  Newbattle.  His  was,  however,  a  most  troubled 
ministry  owing  to  the  fierce  contest  between  Covenanters  and 
Episcopalians.  On  nth  June,  1662,  he  was  deprived  of  his 
office  by  Parliament  and  ceased  to  be  minister,  being  a  deter- 
mined Covenanter.  In  1679  he  was  seized  for  preaching  at 
Covenanting  conventicles,  and  oh  refusing  to  desist  was  con- 
fined to  the  parish  of  Borthwick. 

1663.  ARCHIBALD  CHEISHOLM,  M.A.,  son  of  Walter  C.  Cheisholm, 
bailie  of  Dunblane,  was  appointed  curate  or  minister  of  New- 
battle,  the  Church  of  Scotland  being  Episcopal  since  the  Restora- 
tion of  the  Stuarts  in  1660.  Leighton  was  at  this  time  Bishop  of 
Dunblane,  and  probably  through  his  great  influence,  this  son  of 
(208) 


CHRONICLE  OF  NEWBATTLE  CLERGY. 

the  Dunblane  bailie  was  made  incumbent  of  Newbattle.  From 
this  date  the  "  Book  of  Common  Prayer  "  was  regularly  used  in 
the  church.  Cheisholm  was  in  1667  translated  to  Corstorphine. 
1667.  ALEXANDER  MALCOLM  succeeded  him,  having  been  translated 
from  the  Edinburgh  Tolbooth  Parish.  In  1681  he  was  translated 
to  Greyfriars',  Edinburgh  (Episcopalian).  During  his  incumb- 
ency a  disastrous  fire  took  place  at  Newbattle.  In  the  Session 
Records  of  Cockpen  this  sentence  occurs  : — "  1675,  December  26th. 
This  day  a  collection  intimate  for  the  people  who  had  their 
houses  burnt  at  Newbottle,  and  the  people  exhorted  to  have  it  in 
readiness  against  Friday  next,  and  the  elders  would  come  to 
their  several  houses  to  receive  it." 

1681.  ARCHIBALD   DOUGLAS,    M.A.,    was   translated   from   Newton   to 
succeed  Mr  Malcolm.     (Episcopalian.) 

1682.  ANDREW  AUCHINLECK,  M.A.,  was  translated  from  the  parish  of 
Denino  to  succeed  Mr  Douglas.     (Episcopalian.) 

1687.  GEORGE  JOHNSTON,  A.M.,  (above-mentioned),  returned  to 
Newbattle  on  the  overthrow  of  Episcopacy,  and  was,  after  the 
"  rabbling  of  the  curates,"  restored  as  minister  of  Newbattle,  the 
Church  of  Scotland  having  then  adopted  Presbytery  as  its  church 
polity.  Liberty  was  given  to  Presbyters  who  had  been  ousted 
by  the  Stuart  bishops  to  return  to  their  old  charges,  and,  after 
all  his  vicissitudes,  Johnston  came  back  to  his  former  incumbency 
at  Newbattle.  Shortly  after  he  was  translated  to  Edinburgh. 

The  Covenanters  have  left  an  indelible  mark  in  this  dis- 
trict. The  martyred  Argyle  lay  in  the  Newbattle  vault  for 
two  months  after  his  execution,  under  the  care  of  the  Earl  of 
Lothian,  whose  sympathies  were  so  strongly  with  the  Coven- 
ant. The  George  Johnston  referred  to  was  minister  of  New- 
battle  in  1660,  was  deprived  by  Parliament  in  1662,  and  in 
1679  restored  to  Newbattle  :  seized  again  for  preaching  at  Con- 
venticles and  confined  in  BortEwick  Castle  in  1670  :  after  his 
liberation,  he  was  several  times  arrested  during  the  Covenant- 
ing struggle.  In  1687  he  was  restored  to  Newbattle  and  re- 
turned thither  on  liberty  being  given  to  Presbyterianism.  He 
was  afterwards  translated  to  Greyfriars,  Edinburgh,  and  the 
life  of  this  strong.  Covenanting  leader  forms  an  interesting 
chapter  in  history.  In  1684,  Mr  Macgeorge,  minister  of 
Heriot,  was  imprisoned  for  his  Covenanting  views.  Rullion 
Green  has  its  vivid  memories  of  battle  and  blood,  and  of  Hugh 
M'Kail  and  James  Renwick,  the  last  martyr  of  the  Covenant. 
James  Guthrie  spent  a  night  in  Newbattle  manse  on  his  way 
to  his  execution  in  Edinburgh.  Away  up  in  the  Pentlands  at 
"  Roger's  Kirk  "  a  wounded  refugee  from  the  battle  of  Rul- 
lion Green,  belonging  to  Ayrshire,  finding  refuge  at  Blackhill 
House,  expressed  a  wish  to  die  "  within  sight  of  the  Ayrshire 
hills."  He  was  taken  up  the  glen  of  the  west  water,  and  died 
within  sight  of  his  native  county.  A  tombstone  stands  to  his 
memory  with  this  inscription, — "  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  a 
o  (209) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Covenanter  who  fought  and  was  wounded  at  Rullion  Green, 
November  28,  1666,  and  who  died  at  Oaken  Bush  the  day 
after  the  battle,  and  was  buried  here  by  Adam  Sanderson  of 
Blackhill." 

The  records  of  the  Presbytery  of  Dalkeith  are  very  in- 
complete during  the  quarter  of  a  century  of  the  Covenanting 
struggle,  as  are  also  those  of  the  kirk-sessions  of  the  district. 
An  original  copy  of  the  "  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  " 
hangs  in  Newbattle  House,  and  the  Earl  of  Lothian,  like 
Argyle,  was  a  keen  Covenanter,  and  his  name  is  adhibited  to  it. 

At  Rullion  Green  the  late  Lord  President  Inglis  of  Wood- 
houselee,  close  by,  had  the  memorial  to  the  Covenanting  mar- 
tyrs, who  fell  in  the  "  Pentland  Rising,"  restored.  The  in- 
scription is  as  follows  : — 

"A  cloud  of  witnesses  lie  here, 
Who  for  Christ's  interests  did  appear, 
For  to  restore  true  liberty 
O'er  turned  them  by  tyranny ; 
These  heroes  fought  with  great  renown, 
By  falling  got  the  martyr's  crown." 

Hugh  M'Kail  was  the  most  prominent  of  the  leaders,  and 
took  refuge  at  Goodtrees,  now  Moredun,  where  a  party  of  dra- 
goons followed  him  up.  He  was  apprehended  on  the  Braid 
Hills,  and  hanged  at  Edinburgh  Cross,  amid  the  tears  of  the 
Scottish  people,  after  addressing  the  assembly  with  touching 
affection  and  rapturous  confidence. 

Andrew  Gillon,  a  Covenanter  who  suffered  at  the  Edin- 
burgh gallows  in  1683,  is  buried  near  St.  Andrews.  He  was 
accused  of  complicity  in  the  murder  of  Archbishop  Sharp,  and 
took  refuge  in  the  Bilston  glen  with  Mrs  Umpherston.  Gillon 
was  first  imprisoned  in  Dalkeith  prison,  and  then  in  the  Edin- 
burgh Tolbooth,  and  chained  to  a  thick  bar  of  iron  still  to  be 
seen  in  the  Antiquarian  Museum,  Edinburgh.  He  was  hanged 
at  Edinburgh  Cross  on  Friday,  2oth  July,  1683.  His  brother, 
Robert,  married  a  Maggie  Marr,  and  her  name  still  survives 
in  the  designation  of  a  field  on  Hardengreen  Farm  in  Cockpen 
parish,  which  is  still  called  "Maggie  Marr's  field."  ["Andrew 
Gillon  :  a  Tale  of  the  Scottish  Covenanters,"  by  John  Strath- 
esk.] 

1688.  JOHN  MOSMAN  succeeded  him.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  Pres- 
byterian minister  very  much  after  the  bigoted,  vicious  type,  satir- 
ized in  "  Scotch  Presbyterian  Eloquence  Displayed."  Indeed,  in 
that  book  of  terrible  stories,  prefixed  by  the  most  laughable 
satirical  picture  ever  drawn,  Mosman  several  times  is  held  up  to 
(210) 


CHRONICLE  OF  NEW  BATTLE  CLERGY. 

ridicule.  A  good  story  is  there  told  of  him  how  at  his  induction 
sermon  he  gave  out  as  his  text, — "  I  am  the  Good  Shepherd," 
and  from  that  motto  drew  an  edifying  picture  of  the  relations 
which  ought  and  were  to  subsist  between  pastor  and  people. 
"Now,  brethren,"  said  this  Boanerges,  "I  am  going  to  be  the 
shepherd  and  you  are  to  be  the  sheep  " ;  "  and  this  Bible,"  he  said, 
holding  up  the  bulky  pulpit  volume,  "will  be  my  tar-bottle,  for 
I'll  mark  you  all  with  it."  Then,  bending  over  the  edge  of  his 
preaching-tub,  he  touched  the  precentor  on  the  head  and  said, 
"  Thomas,  you'll  be  the  dowg."  "  Deil  a  bit  of  your  dowg  will  I 
be,  minister,"  cried  the  offended  chief-musician  looking  up  indig- 
nantly out  of  his  singing-barrel.  "  O  Thomas,"  said  the  divine 
in  his  most  soothing  accents,  "I  spake  mystically."  "Ah  but, 
sir,  retorted  the  unabashed  son  of  Asaph,  "ye  spake  mischiev- 
ously !"  Several  good  stories  are  told  of  this  estimable  divine, 
who  spoke  of  David  in  the  pulpit  as  "a  wee  mannikin,  who  with 
a  slingie  and  a  stonie  broucht  that  grate  muckle  giant  Goliath  to 
the  ground."  He  refused  to  pray  for  the  King  and  Queen ;  order- 
ed to  appear  before  the  Estates. 

1695.     ROBERT  SANDILANDS  succeeded. 

1705.     CHARLES  CAMPBELL  succeeded. 

1721.  ANDREW  MITCHELL  succeeded.  During  his  incumbency  the 
present  parish  church  was  re-built  (1727),  the  same  old  Abbey 
stones  being  used  for  the  second  time  + 

1739.    WILLIAM  CREECH  succeeded. 

1746.     JAMES   WATSON.     Relatives   still  living. 

1754.     GEORGE  SHEPHERD.     Relatives  still  living. 

1779.    WILLIAM  PAUL.     Went  to  St.  Cuthbert's,  Edinburgh. 

1786.  JAMES  BROWN.  "Who  greatly  excelled  as  a  preacher,  and  in 
1794  built  the  beautiful  village  of  Eskbank."  (Hew  Scott's 
"Fasti"). 

1813.  JOHN  THOMSON.  Published  "The  constraining  Power  of  the 
Love  of  Christ "  (1839),  which  was  greatly  admired.  Memorial 
in  Church. 

1841.     DR  VEITCH.     Translated  to  St.  Cuthbert's,  Edinburgh. 

1843.     THOMAS  GORDON,  D.D.     Memorial  in  Church. 

i  All  that  remains  of  the  second  church  is  a  portion  of  a  doorway 
and  a  vault  known  as  the  Lothian  vault,  in  which  the  last  Abbot  is 
buried  and  many  of  his  descendants,  as  the  quaint  inscription  on  the 
front  shows — "  Jean  Marchioness  of  Lothian  built  this  Isle  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1705,"  a  statement  which  probably  must  be  interpreted  as 
re-building,  for  in  all  probability,  after  the  dissolution  of  the  mon- 
astery, when  the  old  Abbey  stones,  blackened  with  English  fire,  and 
ruined  even  unto  death,  were  removed  from  the  old  site,  marked  out  in 
gravel,  beside  the  present  dwelling-house,  and  re-built  into  the  church 
a  stone-throw  off  as  the  parish  church  of  Newbotle,  a  vault  was  pre- 
pared underneath  the  chancel  of  the  re-built  church,  the  orientation  of 
which  is  exactly  the  same  as  in  the  old  site  beside  the  cloisters,  and 
in  it  were  intended  to  be  deposited  the  mortal  remains  of  the  commen- 
dator's  family,  which  was  now  by  allowance  of  the  Crown  in  tempor- 
ary custody  of  the  entire  monastic  property  and  revenues.  The 
"  building "  of  1705  could  only  have  been  a  "  re-building,"  and  in 
1727  the  entire  church  was  moved  to  the  other  side  of  the  road  and 
re-built  a  second  time, — the  old  Leighton  pulpit  being  removed  along 
with  the  church  and  all  the  other  ecclesiastical  belongings. 


(211) 


XVIII. 

WILLIAM  CREECH,  THE  FRIEND  OF  BURNS. 

THE  first  edition  of  Burns'  poems  was  published  at  Kil- 
marnock  in  1786,  under  the  title  of  "  Poems  chiefly 
in  the  Scottish  Dialect."     The  second  appeared  at 
Edinburgh  in  1788  from  the  press  of  William  Creech, 
afterwards   Lord    Provost   of    Edinburgh.     He   pur- 
chased the  copyright  of  the  poems,  and  all  along  proved  him- 
self so  warm  and  true  a  friend  to  the  poet,  that  some  account 
of  him  needs  no  apology. 

Creech's  father  was  minister  of  the  parish  of  Newbattle 
in  Prince  Charlie's  time,  and  saw  all  the  rebellions  and  striv- 
ings of  that  memorable  epoch.  He  entered  the  incumbency 
in  1739,  succeeding  the  Rev.  Andrew  Mitchell,  and  died  in 
the  year  of  the  battle  of  Prestonpans.  There  are  those  living 
in  Newbattle  to-day  whose  immediate  ancestors  of  three  gener- 
ations back  travelled  up  the  brow  of  the  hill  in  the  upland  part 
of  the  parish  above  the  Roman  Camp,  and  seawards  towards 

In  the  previous  editions  of  "  William  Creech  "  the  following  note 
was  prefixed  : — "  Though  he  had  misfortunes  great  and  small,  Robert 
Burns  had  also  many  kind  friends,  who  took  the  young  ploughman  by 
the  hand,  and  acknowledging  the  fire  of  his  genius,  helped  with  the 
material  fuel.  Dr  Laurie,  minister  of  Loudon, — one  of  the  poet's 
earliest  benefactors, — introduced  him  to  Dr  Blacklock,  the  blind  poet 
and  divine,  whom  Dr  Johnson  '  beheld  with  reverence,'  and  who  was 
practically  the  first  to  reveal  to  Scotland  the  greatness  of  her  gift. 
The  Earl  of  Glencairn, — the  last  to  hold  the  title, — by  his  generous 
patronage  of  an  Ayrshire  peasant,  gilded  his  coronet  with  imperish- 
able glory,  and  shed  a  parting  ray  of  light  on  the  dying  honours  of 
his  house.  Dugald  Stewart  not  only  graced  the  chair  of  moral  philos- 
ophy, but  stretched  out  a  warm  hand  to  the  author  of  the  '  Cottar's 
Saturday  Night.'  But  probably  the  most  practical  and  useful  friend 
Burns  ever  had  was  '  Willie  Creech,'  who  in  song  and  letter  is  often 
referred  to  by  him.  It  is  fitting  that,  after  nearly  a  century  of  forget- 
fulness,  he  and  his  father  should  be  commemorated  in  the  place  where 
the  former  was  born,  and  where  the  latter  offered  the  sacrifice  of 
praise.  The  simple  sketch  appended  is  intended  to  revive  some  of  the 
Creech  memories  and  traditions  lingering  around  Newbattle  and  Dal- 
keith,  and  as  an  apology, — if  such  were  needed, — for  the  erection  of 
a  brass  memorial  to  them  both  in  the  ancient  sanctuary  where  the 
father  ministered,  and  the  repair  and  improvement  of  the  tombstone 
in  the  churchyard  where  so  many  generations  rest  quietly  after  the 
storm," 

(212) 


WILLIAM  CREECH,  THE  FRIEND  OF  BURNS. 

Fawside  Castle,  to  get  a  view  of  the  battle  while  it  was  in 
progress.  So  that  brings  things  up  pretty  close  to  the  present 
day.  We  do  not  know  on  which  side  Mr  Creech's  sympathies 
were,  but  there  was  great  excitement  in  the  big  village  of  New- 
battle,  which  clustered  round  the  old  church,  when  the  news 
of  Prestonpans  spread  like  wildfire. 

William  Creech  was  the  son  of  a  respectable  farmer  in 
Fife,  where  the  name  is  not  uncommon.  He  was  probably  re- 
lated to  the  great  Cambridge  scholar,  Thomas  Creech,  who 
died  towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  who 
translated  Lucretius  into  verse.  Creech  certainly  had  con- 
siderable connection  with  England  and  the  English. 

After  studying  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  where  he 
distinguished  himself  very  highly,  and  carried  off  many  hon- 
ours, he  became  tutor  to  Mr  George  Cranstoun,  and  on  August 
ist,  1733,  ne  was  licensed  as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Jedburgh.  The  reason  of  his  being  there  was 
that  he  had  taken  to  teaching  in  the  Grammar  School  of  Jed- 
burgh,  then  one  of  the  first  educational  institutions  of  the  time, 
— the  old  grammar  schools  of  Scotland  being  splendid  institu- 
tions of  their  kind,  and  real  nurseries  of  learning  and  genius. 

The  headmastership  of  Jedburgh  Grammar  School  fell 
vacant,  and  he  applied  for  it  in  1734,  but  failed.  After  about 
four  years  of  teaching  (teaching  clergymen  being  then  quite 
common,  for  indeed  the  schoolmaster  was  then  regarded  as  a 
semi-cleric,  as  he  still  is  in  the  North  of  Scotland,  where  many 
of  the  schoolmasters  are  in  Orders,  and  preach  occasionally, 
religion  and  education  being  then  more  closely  allied,  as  in 
the  older  civilisation,  when  the  school  was  part  of  the  monastic 
buildings,  and  was  taught  by  lay  brothers),  he  received  a  call 
to  Newbattle  parish  on  the  22nd  September,  1738,  and  was 
presented  to  the  living  by  the  then  Marquess  of  Lothian.  After 
all  the  preliminary  stages  had  been  taken,  he  was  ordained  in 
the  church  by  the  reverend  fathers  of  the  Presbytery  of  Dal- 
keith,  who  set  him  apart  to  the  holy  ministry  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  and  to  the  special  pastoral  charge  of  Newbattle 
parish.  The  Rev.  Mr  Cavers,  of  Fala,  preached  the  sermon, 
and  addressed  the  newly-ordained  clergyman. 

He  married  Mary  Buley,  an  English  lady,  related  to  Mr 
Quarmes,  of  a  very  old  Devonshire  family,  several  of  whom 
held  the  office  of  Black  Rod  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  they 

(213) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

had  one  son,  William,  the  famous  Edinburgh  bookseller,  and 
two  daughters,  Margaret  and  Marjory,  who  died  almost  in 
infancy,  and  are  buried  in  the  old  churchyard. 

Mr  Creech  died  at  the  early  age  of  forty,  but  in  his  short 
incumbency  of  about  seven  years  he  was  eminent  for  gifts  and 
graces,  and  as  an  eloquent  preacher,  a  faithful  pastor,  and  a 
highly  accomplished  scholar.  The  tombstone  in  the  old  church- 
yard, now  very  defaced,  and  built  into  the  wall,  gives  a  hint  or 
two  of  his  faithfulness. 

A  few  entries  in  the  old  session-books  about  this  date  are 
interesting  :— 

"  X739>  June  I3- — The  session  applied  6  shillings  (Scots)  sterling,, 
to  be  paid  to  Win.  Stephenson  for  3  stools  made  by  him  for 
setting  the  plates  on  at  collections.  Likewise  they  appointed 
him  to  make  two  chairs  for  the  elders  to  sit  on  when  collecting." 
[Probably  a  quaint  old  chair  still  in  the  church  porch  is  the 
very  one,  and  is  thus  a  curious  antiquarian  relic.  Possibly  the 
collecting  stools  are  also  the  ones  still  in  use.] 

"  1742. — The    session,    considering    the    many    abuses    that    happen 
on  the  Lord's  Day,  came  to  a  resolution  that  the  elders  who 
collect  shall  go  through  the  town," — [Newbattle  being  then  a 
town  with  two  bailies,   several  mills,   inns,  and  public-houses, 
and   a   large   population], — "each   Sabbath   in   time   of   public 
worship,  and  observe  what  irregularities  are  in  the  place." 
"  1743,  May  8. — The  Marquis  of  Lothian  ordained  an  elder." 
"  1745,  August  ii. — Mr  Creech  presided  at  a  meeting  of  session." 
"August  21.   —   Mr  Wm.   Creech,   our  minister,   having   this   day 
deceased,  the  session  could  not  have  their  quarterly  meeting  as 
proposed." 

Almost  no  particulars  have  come  down  to  us  of  this  once 
famous  man,  but  he  distinguished  himself  highly  in  church 
courts,  the  Presbytery  and  Synod  books  testifying  to  this,  and 
he  was  a  fine  classical  scholar. 

The  same  high  literary  qualifications  come  out  in  his  only 
son,  William,  who  afterwards  rose  to  a  high  position  in  Edin- 
burgh, and  eventually  became  Lord  Provost.  The  materials 
regarding  the  son  are  so  numerous  and  varied  that  some  notice 
of  William  Creech,  jun.,  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

The  minister  died  on  August  21,  1745,  aged  forty,  and  in 
the  seventh  year  of  his  able  and  brilliant  ministry,  and  Mrs 
Creech,  with  her  son,  retired  from  Newbattle  to  an  old  house 
in  Dalkeith,  probably  one  still  standing  at  the  entrance  to  the 
town.  The  Marquess  and  Marchioness  of  Lothian  showed  her 
much  kindness  in  her  bereavement.  William  received  an  ex- 
cellent education  at  the  High  School  under  Mr  Barclay,  an 
accomplished  educationist,  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  suc- 
cessful teachers  in  Scotland  at  the  time,  who  in  early  life  had 

(214) 


WILLIAM  CREECH,  THE  FRIEND  OF  BURNS. 

been  tutor  to  Lord  Charles  Loughborough,  and  Lord  Leven 
and  Melville;  and  so  close  was  the  tie  formed  at  Dalkeith 
Academy  among  the  boys,  that  for  long  years  after  "  Barclay's 
scholars  "  used  to  meet  and  dine  together  and  talk  over  youth- 
ful exploits  of  long  ago.  To  show  how  excellent  a  teacher  be 
was,  after  he  had  been  dead  forty  years,  no  less  than  twenty 
gentlemen  who  had  been  taught  by  him  met  together,  presided 
over  t>y  Lord  Melville,  to  drink  a  toast  to  his  memory.  "  These 
meetings,"  says  the  biographer  of  Creech,  "  are  still  con- 
tinued, though  the  hand  of  death  has  struck  many  of  them 
down,  so  that  now  few  are  left." 

Young  Creech  was  also  taught  there  by  Dr  Robertson, 
afterwards  minister  of  Kilmaurs,  who  was  then  tutor  to  the 
sons  of  Lord  Glencairn,  all  of  them  boarded  at  Mrs  Creech's 
house  at  Dalkeith ;  and  a  great  friendship  was  struck  up  be- 
tween the  two  young  noblemen  and  young  Creech,  which  lasted 
till  the  very  end  of  life,  and  continued  afterwards  even  among 
other  branches  of  the  respective  families. 

While  at  Dalkeith  young  William  Creech  showed  great  ap- 
titude for  conversation,  and  much  zeal  in  his  studies,  and  fine 
literary  tastes,  just  like  his  father.  Next  we  find  him  going 
with  his  mother  to  Edinburgh,  where  he  was  received  with 
great  kindness  by  many  of  the  late  Mr  Creech's  friends,  and 
especially  by  some  of  the  family  of  Kincaid.  Alex.  Kincaid, 
a  highly  cultured  man,  was  then  His  Majesty's  printer  for 
Scotland,  and  Lord  Provost  in  1777,  in  which  office  he  died. 
Booksellers  then  in  Edinburgh  ranked  next  to  the  aristocracy, 
for  it  was  in  the  old  days  of  clubs  and  coffee-houses,  and  the 
bookseller's  shop  was  the  great  rendezvous  for  talent  of  every 
kind.  Mrs  Kincaid  was  granddaughter  of  Robert,  fourth  Earl' 
of  Lothian,  and  daughter  of  Lord  Charles  Ker,  and  she  con- 
tinued and  transferred  the  friendship  of  the  noble  family  which 
had  previously  been  given  so  generously  to  the  widow  and  son 
of  their  favourite  clergyman,  whose  ministrations  they  regularly 
attended,  sitting  in  the  gallery  still  known  as  the  "  Marquis' 
Gallery." 

Mrs  Creech  was  acknowledged  to  be  a  woman  of  sound 
culture,  having  received  a  very  high-class  education  in  Devon- 
shire, but  what  was  far  better,  a  woman  of  true  goodness 
and  piety  and  deeds ;  and  she  made  it  her  life-work  to  bring 
her  son  William  to  follow  in  his  father's  footsteps.  She  was  ab- 

(215) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

solutely  successful,  and  Lord  Provost  Creech  was,  we  are  told, 
just  the  Rev.  William  Creech  reproduced.  So  like  was  he  in 
face  and  height  and  appearance  and  voice  and  disposition  that 
people  who  saw  the  son  said  the  father  was  back  again  to  life. 
He  imbibed,  too,  his  religious  and  ecclesiastical  and  theological 
tastes,  and  took  a  great  part  in  religious  controversy,  but  al- 
ways with  good  taste  and  modesty  of  bearing.  Neither  father 
nor  son  were  ever  known  to  do  a  mean  or  dishonourable  thing 
in  their  every-day  spheres. 

Young  Creech  in  his  leisure  hours  as  a  boy  used  often  to 
write  sermons,  and  tried  to  imitate  his  father's  gestures  in 
preaching,  and  had  quite  a  collection  of  Scripture  texts  written 
down,  with  notes  and  parallel  passages  and  the  like.  From 
the  first  he  was  an  abnormally  clever  boy. 

At  Edinburgh  University  he  completed  his  studies  and 
got  great  fame.  Being  pressed  to  become  a  doctor,  he  studied 
medicine  for  a  time ;  but  Mr  Kincaid,  the  famous  bookseller, 
had  him  in  his  eye  for  his  business,  and  at  last  Creech  became 
an  apprentice  in  his  bookshop,  which  was  then  the  firm  of 
Kincaid  &  Bell, — both  excellent  men,  moving  in  the  highest 
circles  of  Edinburgh  society.  While  in  their  service  his  ex- 
cellent mother  died,  July,  1764,  and  young  Creech  was  taken 
home  by  the  Kincaids  to  live  with  them  for  altogether,  and 
was  treated  with  warmest  regard  and  affection.  In  1766, 
still  in  their  service,  he  visited  London,  and  pushed  the  busi- 
ness, and  spending  a  year  there,  qualified  himself  as  a  profici- 
ent publisher  and  bookseller.  At  the  same  time  he  cultivated 
the  acquaintance  of  his  relative,  Mr  Quarmes,  one  of  whose 
house  was  then  master  of  the  Black  Rod  in  the  House  cf 
Lords, — and  thence  he  passed  to  Holland  and  Paris,  where 
he  stayed  a  few  months,  returning  to  Edinburgh  in  January, 
1768.  In  1770,  along  with  his  old  playmate,  Lord  Kilmaurs, 
the  second  son  of  Lord  Glencairn  (Burns'  patron  also),  he  had 
a  tour  in  Holland,  Switzerland,  and  Germany,  thus  enriching 
his  mind  and  fitting  himself  for  the  high  station  in  life  he  was 
afterwards  to  occupy.  In  May,  1771,  the  firm  of  Kincaid  & 
Bell,  the  most  celebrated  Scotch  publishing  firm  of  that  cen- 
tury, was  dissolved,  and  Kincaid  took  young  Creech  into  part- 
nership, and  thereafter  the  firm  became  "  Kincaid  &  Creech," 
— a  name  to  be  seen  on  scores  of  old  Edinburgh  books.  This 
firm  existed  till  May,  1733,  when  Mr  Kincaid,  whose  duty  as 

(216) 


WILLIAM  CREECH,  THE  FRIEND  OF  BURNS. 

Lord  Provost  and  as  King's  printer  engaged  him  very  much, 
left  the  business  entirely  to  Creech,  permitting  the  first  name 
to  stand  as  before;  but  henceforth  it  was  Creech's  firm  in  the 
High  Street  of  Edinburgh,  in  a  shop  built  against  St.  Giles' 
Cathedral  on  the  High  Street  side, — the  most  central  and  con- 
venient part  in  Edinburgh.  Some  ill-natured  people  used  to 
say  that  Creech  owed  a  great  deal  of  his  success  to  the  position 
of  his  shop,  which  was  always  before  the  public  eye,  and  in 
the  most  convenient  point  in  Edinburgh.  Lord  Cockburn  even 
.said  so,  and  that  it  was  because  he  was  in  the  very  thick  of 
business  and  attached  literally  to  the  old  cathedral,  that  it 
became  a  resort  of  all  the  authors  and  literary  men  of  the  time. 
It  was  a  big  house  of  five  storeys,  and  one  of  the  many  built 
round  St.  Giles'  Cathedral,  thus  ruining  its  stately  proportions. 
Pictures  of  the  fine  old  pile  with  the  "  booths  "  built  up 
against  its  outside  walls  are  still  preserved  in  the  Cathedral. 

Creech,  from  1773  onwards,  became  one  of  the  leading 
citizens  of  Edinburgh,  and  his  shop  the  great  meeting-place  of 
literary  men.  Lord  Kames  was  his  closest  friend.  He  was 
the  original  publisher  of  the  sermons  of  Dr  Blair,  the  eloquent 
minister  of  St.  Giles',  of  which  Creech  was  a  leading  and 
interested  elder,  and  all  through  a  zealous  and  able  defender 
of  the  ancient  Church  of  Scotland,  of  which  his  father  had 
been  so  distinguished  a  minister.  Some  other  famous  habitues 
of  Creech's  shop  were  Dr  Beattie,  the  polished  writer;  Dr 
Cullen,  and  Dr  Gregory,  the  physician;  Mackenzie,  the  author 
of  "  The  Man  of  Feeling  ";  Lord  Woodhouselee ;  Fergusson, 
the  poet;  Reid  and  Dugald  Stewart,  the  philosophers;  Dr 
Adam  of  the  High  School;  Robert  Burns,  and  many  others. 
He  published  two  well-known  papers,  "  The  Mirror,"  one  of 
the  best  magazines  ever  conducted,  the  last  number  of  which 
appeared  23rd  January,  1779;  and  "The  Lounger," — short 
essays  and  papers  on  current  topics, — after  the  model  of  Addi- 
son's  "  Spectator."  So  much  society  gathered  around  his 
shop  that  it  came  to  be  called  "  The  Mirror  Club,"  and  it 
consisted  chiefly  of  Lord  Gray,  Mackenzie,  Low,  Cullen,  Lord 
Bannage,  George  Howe,  Ogilvie,  &c.  Mr  Creech  formed  the 
Edinburgh  Speculative  Society,  which  still  exists,  and  he  gave 
weekly  breakfasts  in  his  room  above  the  shop,  at  which  all  the 
celebrities  attended,  and  which  came  to  be  known  as  Ct  Creech's 
Levees." 

(217) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

He  took  a  great  interest  in  Edinburgh  as  a  citizen,  and 
rfter  serving  in  various  municipal  capacities,  he  was,  on  Pro- 
vost Kincaid's  death,  elected  Lord  Provost  of  the  City,  amid 
the  congratulations  of  the  citizens. 

All  through  these  stirring  times,  and  all  through  what  was 
a  very  varied  and  full  life,  he  tarried  his  father's  spirit.  Amid 
innumerable  society  engagements  with  all  the  literati  and  noble- 
men of  Scotland,  of  whom  he  was  the  respected  centre, — cheer- 
ing them  all  with  his  address  and  delightful  conversation  and 
genial  happy  presence, — he  never  suffered  anything  to  interfere 
with  reading  and  reflection,  and  above  all,  with  the  regular 
study  of  the  Bible  and  morning  and  evening  prayers.  He  took 
a  warm  interest  in  the  various  religious  questions  of  the  day, 
and  always  took  a  reasonable,  sensible,  and  unbiassed  view. 
He  was  on  very  close  terms  of  intimacy  with  all  the  Edinburgh 
clergy,  and  especially  with  his  own  distinguished  minister,  Dr 
Hugh  Blair,  the  author  of  some  of  the  most  polished  sermons 
that  have  ever  been  written.  His  personality  was  so  attractive 
that  it  was  this  that  drew  so  many  of  Scotland's  cleverest  sons 
around  him.  He  was  an  inimitable  story-teller,  and  as  Provost 
used  to  keep  scores  of  diners-out  in  fits  of  laughter  with  his 
humour,  and  suddenly  he  would  change  to  the  most  pathetic 
and  touching  strain. 

Burns  was  introduced  to  Creech  through  the  Earl  of  Glen- 
cairn,  his  old  mate,  who  recommended  to  him  the  publication 
of  the  second  edition  of  Burns'  poems,  which  Creech  under- 
took, and  carried  to  a  successful  issue.  Burns  and  Creech  at 
once  became  close  and  warm-hearted  cronies,  and  "  mony  a 
canty  day  and  nicht  they  had  wi'  ane  anither."  There  are  a 
good  many  of  Burns'  letters  to  Creech  preserved  in  Cromek's 
"  Reliques  of  Burns. "  Here  is  one  : — 

"  May  13,  1787. 

"  MY  HONOURED  FRIEND,— The  enclosed  I  have  just  wrote  nearly 
extempore  in  a  solitary  inn  in  Selkirk  after  a  miserable  wet  day's  rid- 
ing. I  have  been  over  most  of  East  Lothian,  Berwick,  Roxburgh, 
and  Selkirk  shires,  and  next  week  I  begin  a  tour  through  the  north  of 
England.  Yesterday  I  dined  with  Lady  Hariet  (Lady  Hariet  Dunn, 
sister  of  the  Earl  of  Glencairn's  wife),  sister  to  my  noble  patron. 
'  Quern  deus  conservet !'  I  could  write  till  I  would  tire  you  as  much 
with  dull  prose  as  I  daresay  by  this  time  you  are  with  wretched  verse. 
But  I  am  jaded  to  death,  so  with  a  grateful  farewell,  I  have  the 
honour  to  be,  Good  Sir,  Yours  Sincerely, 

"ROBERT  BURNS." 

Here  is  the  special  poem  to  Creech,  which  Burns  addres- 
(218) 


WILLIAM  CREECH,  THE  FRIEND  OF  BURNS. 

sed  to  him.     The  occasion  was  Mr  Creech's  journey  to  London 
for  a  few  months,  and  Burns'  grief  at  his  departure  :  — 

"Auld  chuckle  Reekie's  sair  distrest, 
Doon  droops  her  ance  well-burnished  crest, 
Nae  joy  her  bonnie  buskit  nest 

Can  yield  ava ; 
Her  darling  bird  that  she  loe's  best — 

Willie's  awa'  ! 

"  Oh,  Willie  was  a  witty  wight, 
And  had  o'  things  an  unco  slight, 
Auld  Reekie  aye  he  keepit  tight 
And  trig  and  braw; 

But  now  they'll  busk  her  like  a  fright — 
Willie's  awa'  ! 

"  The  stiff est  o'  them  a'  he  bowed ; 
The  bauldest  o'  them  a'  he  cowed ; 
They  durst  nae  mair  than  he  allowed, 

That  was  a  law  ; 
We've  lost  a  birkie  weel  worth  gowd — 

Willie's  awa'  ! 

"  Now  gawkies,  tawpies,  gowks  and  fools, 
Frae  colleges  and  boarding-schools, 
May  sprout  like  simmer  puddock  stools 

In  glen  or  shaw; 
He  who  could  brush  them  doun  to  mools — 

Willie's  awa'  ! 

"  The  brethren  o'  the  commerce  chaumer 
May  mourn  their  loss  wi'  doulfu'  clamour  : 
He  was  a  dictionar  and  grammar 

Among  them  a' ; 
I  fear  they'll  now  mak'  mony  a  stammer — 

Willie's  awa'  ! 

"Nae  mair  we  see  his  levee  door 
Philosophers  and  poets  pour, 
And  toothy  critics  by  the  score, 

In  bloody  raw ; 
The  adjutant  o'  a'  the  corps — 
Willie's  awa'  ! 

"  Now  worthy  G s'  latin  face, 

T s'  and  G s'  modest  grace, 

M e,  S 1,  such  a  brace 

As  Rome  ne'er  saw ; 
They  a'  maun  meet  some  ither  place — 

Willie's  awa'  ! 

"  Poor  Burns,  even  Scotch  drink  canna  quicken; 
He  cheeps  like  some  bewildered  chicken 
Scar'd  frae  its  minnie  and  the  cleckin 

By  hoodie  craw ; 
Grief's  gi'en  his  heart  an  unco  kickin' — 

Willie's  awa'  ! 

"  Now  every  sour  mou'd  girnin'  bellum 
And  Calvin's  folk  are  fit  to  fell  him; 
Ilk  self-conceived  critic  skellum 

His  quill  may  draw; 

He  wha  cou'd  brawly  ward  their  bellum — 
Willie's  awa'  ! 
(219) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

"  Up  wimpling  stately  Tweed  I've  sped, 
And  Eden's  scenes  on  crystal  Jed, 
And  Ettrick  banks  now  roaring  red, 

While  tempests  blaw; 
But  every  joy  and  pleasure's  fled — 

Willie's  awa'  ! 

"May  I  be  slander's  common  speech; 
A  text  for  infamy  to  preach; 
And  lastly,  streekit  out  to  bleach 

In  winter  snaw ; 
When  I  forget  thee,  Willie  Creech, 

Tho'  far  awa'  ! 

"  May  never  wicked  fortune  towzle  him  ! 
May  never  wicked  men  bamboozle  him  ! 
Until   a  pow  as  auld's   Methusalem 

He  canty  claw  ! 
Then  to  the  blessed  New  Jerusalem 

Fleet  wing  awa'  !    !    !" 

This  fine  song  shows  a  really  close  friendship,  and  yet 
Burns  and  Creech  had  a  disagreement  as  to  money.  Creech 
delayed  in  gathering  in  the  profits  of  Burns'  poems,  and  Burns 
being  hard  up,  this  annoyed  him,  and  there  was  a  coolness 
for  a  time.  However,  when  all  was  settled,  Burns  said  "  he 
had  been  quite  amicable  and  fair."  As  showing,  however, 
that  there  was  a  coolness,  during  the  temporary  estrangement 
Burns  wrote  of  him  as 

"  A  little,  upright,  pert,  tart-tripping  wight, — 
And  still  his  precious  self,  his  dear  delight." 

Creech  had  another  very  close  friend  in  Baron  Voght  of 
Hamburg,  who  resided  for  some  winters  in  Edinburgh,  and  in 
a  "  Journal  of  a  Traveller,"  written  in  Germany  many  years 
after,  he  describes  Mr  Creech  among  the  remarkable  men  of 
Scotland.  "  It  would  be  a  pity,"  says  the  great  German,  "  if 
he  should  die  without  recovering  that  fund  of  literary  anecdote 
which  long  intimacy  with  all  the  learned  men  of  his  country 
had  furnished  him  with." 

The  chief  work  of  Creech  himself  is  entitled  "  Fugitive 
Pieces,"  a  collection  of  sketches  of  different  events  and  doings 
in  the  course  of  his  life, — some  of  them  giving  very  curious 
sidelights  on  the  days  and  manners  of  Scotland  a  century  and 
a  half  ago.  For  example,  in  one  paper  he  draws  a  contrast 
between  the  state  of  a  Scotch  parish  forty  miles  from  Edin- 
burgh in  1763  and  1783,  a  period  of  twenty  years. 

"  Land  in  1763  at  6s.  an  acre  in  that  parish.  In  1783  at 
i8s.  In  1763  oxen  used  to  plough  the  field;  in  1783  horses. 
In  1763  several  acres  at  ^3  per  acre;  in  1783,  ^£7  and  £&.  In 

(220) 


WILLIAM  CREECH,  THE  FRIEND  OF  BURNS. 

1763  no  English  cloth  worn  but  by  the  minister  and  a  Quaker. 
In  1783  '  there  are  few  who  do  not  wear  English  cloth,  and 
several  the  best  superfine.'  In  1763  there  were  only  2  hats 
worn  in  the  parish, — the  men  wore  cloth  bonnets;  in  1783  these 
wore  all  hats  and  almost  no  bonnets.  In  1763  one  eight-day 
clock  in  the  parish,  6  watches,  and  2  tea-kettles;  in  1783, 
21  clocks,  about  100  watches,  and  above  80  tea-kettles.  In 
1763  the  people  in  the  parish  never  visited  each  other  but  at 
times ;  the  entertainment  was  broth  and  beef ;  the  visits  out 
to  an  ale-house  for  5  or  6  pints  of  ale,  even  many  doing  it 
without  ceremony.  In  1783  people  visited  each  other  oftener; 
a  few  neighbours  are  invited  to  a  house  to  dinner ;  six  or  seven 
dishes  are  set  on  the  table  elegantly  dressed;  after  dinner  a 
large  bowl  of  rum  punch  is  drunk ;  then  tea,  and  another  bowl ; 
after  that  supper,  and  what  is  called  the  great  drunk.  In  1763 
all  persons  in  the  parish  attended  divine  worship  on  Sundays; 
there  were  only  4  Seceders  in  the  parish ;  Sunday  was  regularly 
and  religiously  observed.  In  1783  there  is  such  a  disregard 
of  public  worship  and  ordinances  that  few  attend  divine  wor- 
ship with  that  attention  which  was  formerly  given.  The  decay 
of  religion  and  growth  of  vice  in  this  parish  is  very  remarkable 
within  these  twenty  years." 

Here  is  another  of  his  delightful  little  tit-bits  : — 
"  Abridgement  of  a  sermon  which  took  up  an  hour  in  de- 
livering, from  the  words,  '  Man  is  born  to  trouble.'  '  My 
friends,  the  subject  naturally  falls  to  be  divided  into  three 
heads: — i,  Man's  entrance  into  the  world;  2,  His  progress 
through  the  world ;  3,  His  exit  from  the  world ;  and  4,  Practi- 
cal reflections  from  which  may  be  said  : — First,  then,  man 
came  into  the  world  naked  and  bare.  Second,  His  progress 
through  it  is  trouble  and  care.  Third,  His  exit  from  it  none 
can  tell  where.  Fourth,  But  if  he  does  well  here,  he  will  do 
well  there.  Now  I  can  say  no  more,  my  brethren  dear,  should 
I  preach  on  the  subject  from  this  time  till  next  year.  Amen.'  " 
He  also  tells  how  a  lady  can  furnish  a  dinner  at  7d  for 
two  : — 

"At  the  top,  2  herrings          I(i. 

Middle  dish — i  ounce  and  £  of  butter  melted      Ad. 

Bottom  dish — 3  mutton  chops,  cut  thin      2d. 

One  side — i  Ib.  of  small  potatoes ±d. 

On   other   side — pickled   cabbage     ...      ' |d! 

Fish  removed — 2  larks,  plenty  of  crumbs iJ-d. 

Mutton  removed — French  roll  boiled  for  pudding  Id 

Parsley    for    garnish '..      |<j' 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

"  This  dinner  was  served  up  on  china,  looked  light,  tasty, 
and  pretty  on  the  table,  and  the  dishes  well  proportioned.  We 
hope  each  lady  will  keep  this  as  a  lesson.  It  is  worth  knowing 
how  to  serve  up  dishes  consisting  of  fish,  joint  of  mutton, 
couple  of  fowls,  pudding,  vegetables,  and  sauce,  for  seven- 
pence  !" 

Judging  from  the  pictures,  which  are  still  in  his  descend- 
ants' possession,  Mr  Creech  seems  to  have  dined  at  a  higher 
figure,  and  to  have  had  a  less  slender  appetite  than  for  stewed 
lark  or  a  boiled  French  roll. 

On  one  occasion  Creech  received  a  blank  letter  from  a 
Mr  H.  on  April  ist.  This  was  his  reply  : — 

"  I  pardon,  sir,  the  trick  you've  played  me, 
When  an  April   fool  you've  made  me ; 
Since  one  day  only  I  appear 
That  you,  alas  !  do  all  the  year .'" 

A  very  pretty  little  poem  by  him  is  entitled  : — 

"  A  RECEIPT  FOR  HAPPINESS. 
"  Travel  the  world  and  go  from  pole  to  pole, 

So  far  as  winds  can  blow  or  waters  roll, 

So  all  is  vanity  beneath  this  sun ; 

To  silent  ocean  through  headless  paths  we  run. 
"  See  the  pale  miser  poring  o'er  his  gold, 

See  the  false  patriot  who  his  country  sold ; 

Ambition's   votary   groans   beneath   the  weight, 

A  splendid  victim  to  the  toils  of  state. 
"  Even  in  the  mantling  bowl  sweet  poisons  glow, 

And  love's  pursuit  oft  terminates  in  woe. 

Proud  learning  ends  her  great  career  in  doubt, 

And,  puzzled  still,  makes  nothing  clearly  out. 
"Where,  then,  is  earthly  bliss?  where  does  it  grow? 

Know,  mortal,  happiness  dwells  not  below. 

Look  up  to  heaven,  for  heaven  is  daily  care, 

Spurn  the  vile  earth  and  seek  thy  treasure  there. 

Nothing  but  God, — and  God  alone, — you'll  find 

Can  fill  a  boundless  and  infinite  mind." 

To  a  gentleman  who  complained  of  having  lost  his  gold 
watch,  he  rather  quaintly  wrote  : — 

"  Fret  not,  my  friend,  or  peevish  say 

Your  fate  is  worse  than  common, 

For  gold  takes  wings  and  flies  away, 

And  Time  will  stay  for  no  man." 

Here  is  a  curious  little  local  sidelight  about  the  coaches 
of  the  day  : — 

"  In  1763  there  were  2  stage  coaches  and  three  horses,  a 
coachman  and  postilion  to  each  coach,  which  went  to  the  Port 
of  Leith  (i  mile  and  a  half  distant)  every  hour,  from  8  in  the 
morning  till  8  at  night,  and  consumed  a  full  hour  on  the  road. 
There  were  no  other  stage  coaches  in  all  Scotland,  except  one, 

(222) 


WILLIAM  CREECH,  THE  FRIEND  OF  BURNS. 

which  set  out  once  a  month  for  London,  and  it  took  from  12 
to  16  days  upon  the  journey.  In  1763  there  were  5  or  6  stage 
coaches,  which  took  only  J  an  hour  to  Leith." 

"  J.  Dunn,  who  opened  the  magnificent  hotel  in  the  New 
Town,  was  the  first  person  who  attempted  a  stage  coach  to 
Dalkeith,  a  village  6  miles  distant.  There  are  now  coaches 
and  flies  all  over." 

A  public  masquerade  was  first  attempted  in  Edinburgh 
in  March,  1786,  in  the  following  advertisement: — 

"A  MASQUERADE. 

"  J.  Dunn  begs  to  inform  the  nobility  and  gentry  that  there 
is  to  be  a  Masquerade  in  his  rooms  on  Thursday,  2nd  March 
next.  The  prices  of  tickets  are  i  guinea  to  Gentlemen,  and  | 
guinea  to  Ladies. 

"  N.B. — Rooms  in  Hotel  will  be  set  apart,  and  refresh- 
ments and  wines,  sweetmeats,  &c.,  in  the  large  room.  A  band 
of  musicians  will  attend,  and  the  whole  will  be  conducted  with 
the  strictest  regularity  and  decorum.  No  admittance  on  any 
account  into  the  Halls,  no  servants  into  the  lower  part  of  the 
house." 

Mr  Creech  wrote  a  paper  making  fun  of  it  all,  and  raised 
a  great  laugh  about  it. 

Creech  gives  fine  pictures  of  the  young  mashers  of  his 
day,  with  doublets  and  coloured  finery,  and  swords  and  buckles 
and  embroidered  waistcoats  and  "  tonish  dress." 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  great  row  took  place  as  to 
clergymen  going  to  theatres  and  encouraging  the  drama.  The 
Rev.  Mr  Home  had  written  his  tragedy  of  "  Douglas,"  a  most 
moral  and  correct  play,  and  many  clergymen  went  to  see  it 
acted,  including  "  Jupiter  Carlyle  "  of  Inveresk.  Thereupon 
the  General  Assembly  pulled  them  up,  and  forbade  clergymen 
to  countenance  the  stage  in  any  way;  but  in  1783  a  great 
change  had  come  over  public  feeling,  and  it  was  quite  common 
to  see  the  black  surtout  and  the  roll  of  white  muslin  round  the 
neck,  in  a  theatre  stall.  The  whole  story  of  the  controversy 
regarding  clerical  play- writing  and  theatre-going  is  given  at 
full  length  in  the  Autobiography  of  "  Jupiter  Carlyle,"  the 
great  minister  of  Inveresk,  who  stood  by  Home  in  his  diffi- 
culty, and  suffered  along  with  him. 

It  was  in  May,  1784,  that  Mrs  Siddons  first  visited  Edin- 
(223) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

burgh.  A  few  citizens  subscribed  the  money  and  invited  her 
to  come,  which  she  did.  There  was,  however,  a  fearful  row, 
as  the  subscribers  very  naturally  insisted  on  front  seats,  and 
the  mob  of  2000  people  swelled  in  and  crushed  them  all  up. 
There  were  2557  applicants  for  630  seats.  The  weather  was 
warm,  and  the  house  exceedingly  crowded,  and  this  gave  occa- 
sion for  the  servants  of  the  theatre  introducing  a  variety  of  re- 
freshments into  the  pit  and  gallery.  Creech  wrote  a  humorous 
poem  on  it : — 

"  AN   EPISTLE  FROM   Miss    MARIA   BELINDA  ,   

STREET,  EDINBURGH,  TO  HER  FRIEND  Miss  LAVINA  L 

AT  GLASGOW. 
"  Each  evening  the  playhouse  exhibits  a  mob, 

And  the  right  of  admission's  turned  into  a  job. 

By  five  the  whole  pit  used  to  fill  with  subscribers, 

And  those  who  had  money  enough  to  be  bribers ; 

But  the  public  took  fire  and  began  a  loud  jar, 

And  I  thought  we'd  have  had  a  Siddonian  war. 

The  Committee  met,  and  the  lawyers'  hot  mettle 

Began  very  soon  to  cool  and  to  settle. 

Of  public  resentment  to  blunt  the  keen  edge 

In  a  coop  they  consented  that  sixty  they'd  wedge, 

And  the  coop's  now  so  crammed  it  will  scarce  hold  a  woman, 

And  the  rest  of  the  pit's  turned  a  true  public-bouse, 

With  porters  and  pathos,  with  whisky  and  whining, 

They  quickly  all  look  as  if  long  they'd  been  dining. 

As  for  Siddons  herself,  her  features  so  tragic 

Have  caught  the  whole  town  with  the  force  of  her  magic. 

Her  action  is  varied,  her  vision  extensive, 

Her  eye  very  fine,  but  somewhat  too  pensive. 

I  quickly  return,  and  am  just  on  the  wing, 

And  some  things  I'm  sure  that  you'll  like  I  will  bring — 

The  sweet  Siddons  cap  and  the  latest  dear  ogle. 

Farewell  till  we  meet, 

"  Your  true  friend, 

"  MARY  BOGGLE. 
"  June  7,  1784." 

After  a  long  and  useful  life,  and  receiving  every  honour 
which  Edinburgh,  and  indeed  Scotland,  and  all  literature  could 
give  him,  he  laid  him  down  to  die.  In  1815  he  was  suddenly 
seized  with  illness,  and  he  sank  and  passed  away  in  January, 
1815,  aged  70  years. 

The  "  Edinburgh  Courant  "  of  i2th  January  said  of  him  : 
— "  His  conversational  talents,  whether  the  subject  was  gay  or 
serious  or  learned,  his  universal  good  humour  and  pleasantry, 
and  his  unrivalled  talent  in  describing  to  a  social  party  the 
peculiarities  of  eccentric  characters,,  will  be  long  remembered 
by  the  numerous  circle  to  whom  his  many  pleasing  qualities  so 
long  endeared  him,  and  who  so  sincerely  regret  that  he  is  lost 
to  them  for  ever." 

(224) 


WILLIAM  CREECH,  THE  FRIEND  OF  BURNS. 

He  greatly  resembled  his  father  in  face,  figure,  and  dis- 
position, and  fine  Raeburn  paintings  of  him  are  still  preserved 
in  the  family,  the  chief  representatives  of  which  are  the  Wat- 
sons. In  Kay's  "  Edinburgh  Portraits,"  there  are  many  re- 
ferences to  Creech. 

.The  ravages  of  time  have  very  nearly  destroyed  the  last 
remains  of  his  father's  monument  in  Newbattle  Churchyard. 
All  that  remains  of  it  is  a  headpiece  built  into  the  south 
wall,  with  an  open  book  and  the  text,  Job  xix.,  25,  and  a  small 
piece  of  broken  sandstone  below,  with  the  words, — "  M.S.D. 
Gulielmi  Creech,  Ecclesiae  apud  Newbattle  fidelissimi  .  .  . 
pietate,  prudentia  ma .  .  .  hominem  or  .  .  .  " 

Provost  Creech  is  buried  in  the  Greyfriars  Churchyard  in 
Edinburgh,  and  a  great  monument,  erected  by  the  city,  is 
to-day  rotting  to  decay. 

Creech  briefly  sums  up  his  life-philosophy  in  these  words  : 

"  A  languid,  leaden  iteration  reigns, 
And  ever  must  o'er  those  whose  joys  are  joys 
Of  sense. 

On  lightened  minds  that  bask  in  virtue's  beams 
Nothing  hangs  tedious. 
Each  rising  morning  sees  them  higher  rise, 
Each  bounteous  dawn  its  novelty  presents 
To  work  returning. 

While  nature's  circle  like  a  chariot  wheel 
Rolls  beneath  their  elevated  aims, 
Makes  their  fair  prospect  fairer  every  hour, 
Advancing  virtue  in  a  line  to  bliss, 
Virtue  which  Christian  motives  best  inspire, 
And  Bliss  which  Christian  schemes  alone  ensure  !  " 

The  brass  in  Newbattle  Church  and  the  new  stone  in  the 
churchyard  commemorate  both  father  and  son. 


(225) 


XIX. 

LITERARY  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  NEWBATTLE. 


SIR  WALTER  SCOTT  AND  NEWBATTLE. 

WHEN   Sir   Walter,    after  his   apprenticeship   to  the 
law,   settled   down  with  his  young   French   wife, 
Charlotte  Margaret  Carpenter,  in  December,  1797, 
the  daughter  of  a  gentleman  of  Lyons,  whom  he 
had  accidentally  met  on  an  excursion  to  Gilsland 
Wells  in  Cumberland, — in  the  cottage  now  known  as  Scott's 
Cottage,   Lasswade,   he   was  only   a  rising  young   lawyer  of 
Edinburgh.     He  had  already  published  several  works,  trans- 
lations of  Burger's  Ballads,  but  in  December,  1799,  he  was 
appointed,  through  the  influence  of  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch, 
whose  distant  kinsman  he  was,  Sheriff-Depute  of  Selkirkshire, 
at  a  salary  of  ^300  a  year.     He  dedicated  the  "  Lay  of  the 
Last  Minstrel  "  to  the  young  Duchess  of  Buccleuch,  and  al- 
most every  part  of  the  district  around  Dalkeith  has  been  cele- 
brated by  him  in  verse.     The  Esk  valleys,  he  often  said,  were 
the  most  beautiful  in  Scotland,  and  certainly  it  was  from  the 
noble  family  of  Dalkeith  that  he  received  his  greatest  encour- 
agement and  inspiration. 

Scott's  nearness  to  the  Buccleuch  family,  when  in  Lass- 
wade,  helped  him  greatly  in  his  work  in  many  ways,  and  he 
was  on  terms  of  the  closest  intimacy  with  the  fourth  Duke. 
He  was  also  on  intimate  terms  with  Robert  Dundas,  the  second 
Viscount  Melville,  and  was  never  out  of  Melville  Castle,  which 
stands  quite  near  Lasswade.  There  are  piles  of  Scott's  un- 
published letters  preserved  in  the  library  of  Melville  Castle. 
He  also  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  Dalhousie  Castle,  the  Earl 
being  a  school  and  college  companion;  and,  generally,  Scott's 
connection  with  Lasswade  and  the  neighbourhood  was  intimate, 
and  he  introduces  almost  every  historic  incident  and  picturesque 
feature  or  landscape  of  the  entire  Esk  valley  into  novel  or 
poem  : — 

(226) 


LITERARY  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  NEWBATTLE. 

Sweet  are  the  paths,  O  passing  sweet ! 

By  Eske's  fair  streams  that  run, 
O'er  airy  steep,  through  copsewood  deep, 

Impervious  to  the  sun. 

There  the  rapt  poet's  step  may  rove, 

And  yield  the  muse  the  day ; 
There  Beauty,  led  by  timid  Love, 

May  shun  the  tell-tale  ray. 

From  that  fair  dome,  where  suit  is  paid, 

By  blast  of  bugle  free, 
To  Auchendinny's  hazel  shade, 

And  haunted  Woodhouselea. 

Who  knows  not  Melville's  beechy  grove 

And  Roslin's  rocky  glen, 
Dalkeith,  which  all  the  virtues  love, 

And  classic-  Hawthornden. 

But  so  far  as  Newbattle  is  concerned,  besides  often  visit- 
ing its  churchyard, — famous  through  Old  Mortality,  the  Resur- 
rectionists, and  others, — "The  Gray  Brother:  a  Fragment" 
is  the  finest  remnant  of  his  connection  with  and  attachment  to 
the  place.  It  is  only  a  fragment  descriptive  of  the  vision 
which  was  seen  in  the  old  valley,  and  may  be  quoted  in  full : — 

The  Pope  he  was  saying  the  high,  high  mass, 

All  on  saint  Peter's  day, 
With  the  power  to  him  given,  by  the  saints  in  heaven, 

To  wash  men's  sins  away. 

The  Pope  he  was  saying  the  blessed  mass, 

And  the  people  kneeled  around, 
And  from  each  man's  soul  his  sins  did  pass, 

As  he  kissed  the  holy  ground. 

And  all,  among  the  crowded  throng, 

Was  still,  both  limb  and  tongue, 
While  through  vaulted  roof,  and  aisles  aloof, 

The  holy  accents  rung. 

At  the  holiest  word,  he  quivered  for  fear, 

And  faltered  in  the  sound — 
And,  when  he  would  the  chalice  rear, 

He  dropped  it  on  the  ground. 

"The  breath  of  one  of  evil  deed 

Pollutes  our  sacred  day ; 
He  has  no  portion  in  our  creed, 
No  part  in  what  I  say. 

"  A  being,  whom  no  blessed  word 

To  ghostly  peace  can  bring  ; 
A  wretch,  at  whose  approach  abhorred, 
Recoils  each  holy  thing. 

"  Up  !  up  !  unhappy  !  haste,  arise  ! 

My  adjuration  fear  ! 
I  charge  thee  not  to  stop  my  voice, 
Nor  longer  tarry  here  !  " — 

(227) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Amid  them  all  a  pilgrim  kneeled, 

In  gown  of  sackcloth  grey ; 
Far  journeying  from  his  native  field, 

He  first  saw  Rome  that  day. 

For  forty  days  and  nights,  so  drear, 

I  ween,  he  had  not  spoke, 
And,  save  with  bread  and  water  clear, 

His  fast  he  ne'er  had  broke. 

Amid  the  penitential  flock, 

Seemed  none  more  bent  to  pray; 
But,  when  the  Holy  Father  spoke, 

He  rose,  and  went  his  way. 

Again  unto  his  native  land, 

His  weary  course  he  drew, 
To  Lothian's  fair  and  fertile  strand, 

And  Pentland's  mountains  blue. 

His  unblest  feet  his  native  seat, 

Mid  Eske's  fair  woods,  regain ; 
Through  woods  more  fair,  no  stream  more  sweet, 

Rolls  to  the  eastern  main. 

And  lords  to  meet  the  Pilgrim  came, 

And  vassals  bent  the  knee ; 
For  all  mid  Scotland's  chiefs  of  fame, 

Was  none  more  famed  than  he. 

And  boldly  for  his  country,  still, 

In  battle  he  had  stood, 
Aye,  even  when,  on  the  banks  of  Till, 

Her  noblest  poured  their  blood. 

Yet  never  a  path,  from  day  to  day, 

The  Pilgrim's  footsteps  range, 
Save  but  the  solitary  way 

To  Burndale's  ruined  Grange. 

A  woeful  place  was  that,  I  ween, 

As  sorrow  could  desire ; 
For,  nodding  to  the  fall  was  each  crumbling  wall, 

And  the  roof  was  scathed  with  fire. 

It  fell  upon  a  summer's  eve, 

While,  on  Carnethy's  head, 
The  last  faint  gleams  of  the  sun's  low  beams 

Had  streaked  the  gray  with  red ; 

And  the  convent  bell  did  vespers  tell, 

Newbottle's  oaks  among, 
And  mingling  with  the  solemn  knell 

Our  Ladye's  evening  song  : 

The  heavy  knell,  the  choir's  faint  swell, 

Came  slowly  down  the  wind, 
And  on  the  Pilgrim's  ear  they  fell, 

As  his  wonted  path  he  did  find. 

Deep  sunk  in  thought,  I  ween,  he  was, 

Nor  ever  raised  nis  eye, 
Until  he  came  to  that  dreary  place, 

Which  did  all  in  ruins  lie. 

(228) 


LITERARY  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  NEWBATTLE. 

He  gazed  on  the  walls,  so  scathed  with  fire, 

With  many  a  bitter  groan — 
And  there  was  aware  of  a  Gray  Friar, 

Resting  him  on  a  stone. 

"  Now,  Christ  thee  save  !"  said  the  Gray  Brother ; 

"  Some  pilgrim  thou  seemest  to  be." 
But  in  sore  amaze  did  Lord  Albert  gaze, 
Nor  answer  again  made  he. 

"  O  come  ye  from  east,  or  come  ye  from  west, 

Or  bring  reliques  from  over  the  sea, 
Or  come  ye  from  the  shrine  of  St  James  the  divine, 
Or  of  St  John  of  Beverley?  "— 

<c  I  come  not  from  the  shrine  of  St  James  the  divine, 

Nor  bring  reliques  from  over  the  sea  : 
I  bring  but  a  curse  from  our  father,  the  Pope, 
Which  for  ever  will  cling  to  me." 

"  Now,  woeful  Pilgrim  say  not  so  ! 

But  kneel  thee  down  by  me, 
And  shrive  thee  so  clean  of  thy  deadly  sin, 
That  absolved  thou  mayest  be." — 

"And  who  art  thou,  thou  Gray  Brother, 

That  I  should  shrive  to  thee, 

When  he,  to  whom  are  given  the  keys  of  earth  and  heaven, 
Has  no  power  to  pardon  me?  " 

"  O  I  am  sent  from  a  distant  clime, 

Five  thousand  miles  away, 
And  all  to  Absolve  a  foul,  foul  crime, 
Done  here  'twixt  night  and  day." — 

The  Pilgrim  kneeled  him  on  the  sand, 

And  thus  began  his  saye — 
When  on  his  neck  an  ice-cold  hand 

Did  that  Gray  Brother  lave. 


DE  QUINCEY  AND  NEWBATTLE. 

The  little  cottage  where  De  Quincey  lived  with  his  girls 
is  still  standing  on  the  declivity  of  the  steep  hill  at  Polton. 
The  De  Quinceys  were  of  Norwegian  descent,  and  came  over 
with  William  the  Conqueror.  The  family,  however,  in  course 
of  time  dropped  the  "  De,"  but  the  great  author,  with  his 
taste  for  romance  and  antiquity,  revived  the  ancient  prefix. 
His  father  was  a  literary  man,  and  in  1775  published  a  book 
on  a  tour  through  the  Midlands.  He  married  Miss  Penson, 
and  there  were  four  sons  and  four  daughters  of  the  marriage, 
Thomas  being  the  fifth  child  and  second  son,  born  August  15, 
1785.  It  was  probably  at  Manchester  that  he  first  saw  the 

(229) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

light,  but  he  spent  his  early  childhood  at  Greenhay,  a  little 
way  out  of  Manchester,  a  fine  residence  which  his  father  built 
in  1792,  at  a  cost  of  ^6000.  He  early  began  to  show  a  dis- 
position for  dreaming  and  reverie.  His  mother  was  a  very 
intelligent  woman,  and  her  letters  rival  Lady  Montagu's.  His 
father  having  died  in  1796,  his  mother  went  to  Bath,  and 
Thomas  was  sent  to  Bath  Grammar  School ;  later  on  to  Wink- 
field  School  in  Wiltshire,  where  he  formed  a  close  intimacy 
with  young  Lord  Westport,  with  whom  he  spent  several  vaca- 
tions in  Ireland.  Next  he  was  sent  to  Manchester  Grammar 
School,  from  which  he  ran  away  and  began  a  course  of  vag- 
rancy on  his  own  account,  wandering  over  North  Wales,  the 
Lakes,  and  London.  He  took  lodgings  in  Greek  Street,  Lon- 
don. He  was  very  shy  and  timorous,  and  wonderfully  ec- 
centric ;  he  could  not  do  anything  like  any  other  body.  Carlyle, 
seeing  him  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  was  struck  with  the  oldness 
of  the  expression  on  the  boyish  face,  and  his  gentle 
demeanour  and  wonderful  gift  of  delivery  and,  melli- 
fluous speech.  In  1803  he  entered  himself  at  Ox- 
ford as  an  undergraduate  at  Worcester  College,  where 
he  got  the  name  of  being  a  very  strange,  studious,  kind, 
but  eccentric  man.  When  he  went  up  for  B.A.  his  examiners 
said  he  was  the  cleverest  man  they  had  ever  had  to  do  with. 
Next,  leaving  the  University,  he  took  a  cottage  at  the  English 
lakes,  Townend  Cottage,  Grasmere,  in  November,  1809,  and 
was  thenceforth  to  be  enrolled  as  one  of  the  English  Lakists, 
of  whom  Wordsworth,  Southey,  Coleridge,  Bishop,  Watson, 
and  Charles  Lloyd  were  all  there  at  the  time.  Here  he  amas- 
sed a  great  library  and  lived  on  books,  hills,  lakes,  and  opium. 
Partly  to  relieve  the  weariness  of  a  weak  and  fragile  physique, 
partly  to  open  the  doors  into  the  other  world,  the  unseen  uni- 
verse of  imagination  and  mysticism,  he  took  the  ruby  fluid 
which  was  to  him  the  key  into  that  world,  "  liquid  damnation," 
as  Professor  Masson  calls  it.  While  there,  busily  writing  for 
the  magazines,  and  preparing  his  "  Confessions  of  an  opium- 
eater,"  and  other  works,  he  married  Margaret  Simpson,  the 
daughter  of  a  neighbour,  she  being  eighteen  and  De  Quincey 
thirty-one.  Just  before  marriage  he  managed  to  reduce  his 
daily  allowance  of  opium  from  8000  drops  a  day  to  1000  drops 
or  40  grains.  His  description  of  the  delicious  sensation  and 
the  glorious  visions  vouchsafed  to  the  opium-eater,  is  a  thril- 

(230) 


LITERARY  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  NEWBATTLE. 

ling  picture,  were  it  not  for  the  awful  portrait  given  of  the 
victim  after  paradise  had  been  lost  and  the  grey  work-a-day 
world  reappeared.  Next  we  see  him  editor  of  "  The  West- 
moreland Herald,"  and  more  busy  than  ever  writing  to  "Black- 
wood."  And  then  he  comes  to  Edinburgh  and  lives  at  42 
Lothian  Street,  under  the  shadow  of  the  University,  in  the  old 
town.  Next  his  eldest  daughter,  Margaret,  induced  him  to 
take  the  cottage  of  Mavis  Bush,  between  Lasswade  and  Polton, 
now  called  "  De  Quincey  Villa,"  to  be  a  home  for  the  family, 
for  Thomas,  himself,  could  settle  nowhere,  but  was  always  on 
the  move  and  always  in  dreamland.  He,  however,  kept  on 
his  house  in  Lothian  Street,  and  divided  his  time  between 
Lasswade  and  Edinburgh, — often  lying  out  in  the  open-air 
with  the  constellations  for  a  canopy, — often  being  lost  to  his 
family  of  young  children  for  weeks  at  a  time.  He  was  a 
well-known  figure  in  the  Grange,  Lasswade,  Dalkeith,  and  the 
district  round  for  twenty  years  prior  to  his  death  in  the  autumn 
of  1859.  There  are  many  in  this  district  who  remember  him 
well,  and  his  odd  and  eccentric  ways  and  his  habits  of  fearful 
confusion  and  disorder.  A  well-known  lady  in  Eskbank  re- 
cently deceased,  used  to  relate  how  her  housemaid  turned  the 
dreamer  from  the  door  under  the  impression  that  he  was  a 
vendor  of  stationery,  with  the  remark,  "  we  don't  require  any 
to-day."  There  are  also  traditions  of  love-letters  having  been 
frequently  carried  by  those  still  living  when  small  boys,  be- 
tween Prestonholm  and  the  young  Misses  De  Quincey  at  Polton 
during  their  father's  absence.  Those  who  arranged  his  rooms 
after  his  death  are  still  living,  and  declare  that  such  a  con- 
fusion of  paper-scraps  never  was  seen  before, — a  perfect  snow- 
storm of  pamphlets  and  books.  He  is  buried  in  St.  Cuthbert's 
Churchyard,  Edinburgh,  and  a  plain  stone  marks  the  spot. 
[See  Professor  Masson's  "  De  Quincey."] 


CHRISTOPHER  NORTH  AND  NEWBATTLE. 

Early  last  century  the  widowed  Countess  of  Haddington 
married  Captain  Hay,  and  resided  at  Woodburn,  the  finely- 
situated,  beautifully-wooded  mansion  overhanging  the  South 
Esk.  She  was  one  of  "  Camp  Meg's  "  kindest  friends.  In 

(231) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

1824,  Mr  James  Wilson,  a  well-known  traveller  and  naturalist, 
married  Miss  Isabella  Keith,  also  a  naturalist,  and  settled 
down  at  Woodburn,  where  they  enjoyed  a  singularly  happy  life 
in  congenial  pursuits  and  studies.  Together  they  composed 
almost  all  the  articles  on  Natural  History  in  the  "  Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica,"  and  wrote  countless  articles  on  the  same 
subject  to  the  "  Quarterly  Review,"  "  Blackwood's  Magazine," 
&c.  Wilson's  diary  is  delightful  reading,  especially  the  ac- 
counts of  his  rambles  in  Sutherlandshire.  in  search  of  rare 
eggs  and  birds.  His  studies  solaced  him  for  many  years  after 
his  wife's  decease  in  1837,  also  the  visits  of  his  brother,  Pro- 
fessor John  Wilson,  better  known  as  "  Christopher  North," 
who  is  still  remembered  as  a  sojourner  at  Woodburn.  After 
the  burial  of  the  genial  author  of  the  "  Noctes  Ambrosianae  " 
in  the  Dean  Cemetery,  Edinburgh,  James  lived  for  two  years, 
and  died  on  Sunday  morning,  i8th  May,  1856,  at  Woodburn, 
with  the  words  of  the  23rd  Psalm  on  his  lips,  and  full  of 
triumphant  Christian  faith  and  love.  His  life  forms  one  of 
the  "Favourite  Christian  Biographies."  [Edinburgh:  Gall 
&  Inglis.]  General  Lord  Ralph  Kerr  now  resides  in  the 
beautiful  old  mansion. 

Thomas  Carlyle's  visit  of  a  week  to  Newbattle  Abbey  is 
still  remembered  in  the  valley.  The  high  opinion  he  enter- 
tained of  his  host  and  hostess,  the  Marquess  and  Marchioness 
of  Lothian,  is  referred  to  in  another  chapter.  The  Chelsea 
sage  seems  to  have  fairly  revelled  in  the  host  of  Cromwell  and 
other  letters  of  which  the  house  is  full,  as  well  as  in  the  count- 
less treasures  and  pictures  for  which  the  stately  historic  resi- 
dence is  famous. 


ALEXANDER  JAFFRAY,  THE  QUAKER. 

In  an  old  house  now  pulled  down,  which  used  to  stand 
beside  Newbattle  Church,  on  the  other  side  from  the  manse, 
lived  the  famous  Quaker,  Alexander  Jaffray,  whose  "  Diary  >? 
is  a  rich  and  full  story  of  the  Covenanting  period.  It  was 
edited  and  published  by  John  Barclay  in  1856  (Aberdeen : 
George  &  Robert  King),  and  is  in  two  parts, — the  first  being 
a  religious  diary  giving  a  day  by  day  account  of  J affray's  s'pir- 

(232) 


LITERARY  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  NEW  BATTLE. 

itual  condition.  Carlyle  said  that  if  Jaffray  had  said  less 
about  his  soul  and  more  about  Oliver  Cromwell  he  would  have 
done  the  world  a  greater  service.  In  an  age  of  religious  con- 
tention and  fighting,  like  Leighton,  who  was  his  friend,  he 
sought  peace  in  an  inward  spiritual  life  of  individual  walking 
with  God.  The  second  part  of  the  Diary  gives  "  memoirs  of 
his  contemporaries  and  companions  in  the  profession  of  fhe 
same  Christian  principles."  He  was  one  of  the  very  earliest 
Scottish  Quakers,  and,  curiously,  ever  since  his  residence  in 
Newbattle,  there  has  always  been  a  small  representation  of 
the  body  in  the  district.  Jaffray  was  Provost  of  Aberdeen, 
one  of  the  Commissioners  to  King  Charles  II.,  and  a  member 
of  Cromwell's  Parliament.  He  married  the  daughter  of  the 
Rev.  Andrew  Cant,  who  left  Newbattle  to  be  minister  of  Aber- 
deen. When  Jaffray  was  appointed  by  the  judges  at  Edin- 
burgh to  be  Director  of  the  Chancellery,  in  March,  1652,  he 
removed  from  Aberdeen,  and  through  his  wife's  connection 
with  Newbattle,  he  took  up  residence  in  the  old  house  beside 
Newbattle  Church  (now  demolished)  on  i5th  November,  1656. 
He  records  in  his  diary  the  goodness  of  God  in  arranging  all 
the  details  of  the  journey  from  Aberdeen  to  Leith, — "  we  were 
carried  as  it  were  on  eagles'  wings,  without  the  least  trouble 
to  the  mother  or  to  the  young  ones  that  were  with  her,  though 
the  season  of  the  year  was  not  very  convenient  for  such  to 
travel  in;  yet  by  the  good  hand  of  our  God  with  us,  were  all 
brought  safely  to  Newbattell." 

Leighton  had  resigned  the  charge  three  years  earlier,  and 
Alexander  Dickson  was  minister, — the  son  of  Professor  David 
Dickson,  the  Covenanting  martyr  and  hymn-writer,  who  wrote 
the  hymn, — "O  mother  dear,  Jerusalem."  The  relationship 
between  Jaffray  and  Leighton  and  Cant  was  thus  a  very  close 
one.  In  1657  he  left  Newbattle  to  reside  in  a  house  near 
Holyrood  Abbey,  at  Abbeyhill.  It  is  said  that  James  Guthrie, 
the  Covenanting  martyr,  spent  some  of  his  last  days  at  New- 
battle,  in  company  with  sympathising  friends,  including  the  Earl 
of  Lothian.  At  any  rate,  when  Guthrie  and  the  other  Covenanters 
were  imprisoned  in  the  Tolbooth  in  Edinburgh,  Jaffray  often 
visited  them  and  had  conversations  with  them  as  to  the  causes 
of  God's  wrath  against  Scotland.  He  was  on  intimate  terms 
with  George  Fox,  the  Quaker,  who  wrote  several  Encyclical 
letters  to  the  Quakers  in  Scotland  through  him.  When  the 

(233) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Restoration  took  place  in  1660  Cant  left  Aberdeen  and  came 
to  Liberton,  where  his  son  was  minister,  and  thus  J affray  came 
again  into  close  contact  with  his  father-in-law.  Both  of  the 
Cants,  father  and  son,  were  summoned  in  1662  before  the 
Privy  Council,  but  suffered  nothing,  and  indeed  the  son  con- 
formed to  Episcopacy.  Jaffray  was  all  through  a  zealous 
member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  was  driven,  like  Leigh  - 
ton,  to  seek  an  inner  spiritual  and  hidden  life  by  the  troubles 
and  disputes  and  controversies  of  the  times. 


WHITTIER  AND  NEWBATTLE. 

In  1870  Miss  Ellen  C.  Miller,  a  quakeress  who  had  con- 
nection with  Newbattle,  joined  a  party  of  Friends  in  a  pil- 
grimage to  the  East,  and  has  summed  up  her  impressions, 
which  are  very  interesting,  in  a  volume  entitled, — "  Eastern 
Sketches,"  in  which  she  gives  a  devout  and  interesting  account 
of  the  journey  which  she  made  in  the  Orient  in  company  with 
Eli  and  Sytsil  Tones,  Quakers,  who  felt  drawn  to  go  to  the  East 
and  proclaim  Christ.  The  poet  Whittier,  of  America,  had  at  one 
time  thought  of  joining  the  party,  being  of  a  Quaker  tendency 
himself,  but  circumstances  prevented  him,  and  he  sent  the  fol- 
lowing verses  as  an  apology  : — 

"  As  one  who  watches  from  the  strand 
The  life-boat  go  to  seek  and  save, 
And  all  too  weak  to  lend  a  hand 

Sends  his  faint  cheer  across  the  wave ; 

So,  powerless  at  my  hearth  to-day 

Unmeet  your  holy  work  to  share, 
I  can  but  speed  you  on  your  way 

Dear  friends,  with  my  unworthy  prayer. 

Go,   angel-guarded,   duty-sent — 

Our  thoughts  go  with  you  o'er  the  foam; 

Where'er  you  pitch  your  pilgrim  tent 
Our  hearts  shall  be  and  make  it  home. 

And  we  will  watch,  if  so  He  wills 
Who  ordereth  all  things  well,  your  ways, 

Where  Zion  lifts  her  olive  hills 
And  Jordan  ripples  to  His  praise. 

Oh  !  sweet  to  tread  where  Jesus  taught, 
And  tread  with  Him  Gennesaret's  strand ; 

But  whereso'er  His  work  is  wrought, 
Dear  hearts,  shall  be  your  Holy  Land  !  " 

(234) 


LITERARY  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  NEW  BATTLE. 

BURNS  AND  NEWBATTLE. 

There  are  no  memories  of  Robert  Burns  having  ever  been 
in  the  Newbattle  valley,  though  he,  during  his  visits  to  Edin- 
burgh, must  surely  have  visited  some  of  the  interesting  places 
in  the  district.  Liberton  has  an  interesting  connection  with 
Robert  Burns.  Near  Southfield,  at  the  hamlet  of  Greenend, 
there  lived  for  some  time  the  Rev.  John  Clunie,  who  is  taken 
notice  of  in  Connolly's  "  Eminent  men  of  Fife."  He  was  the 
author  of  the  well-known  Scotch  song,  "  I  lo'e  nae  a  laddie  but 
ane."  Born  about  1757,  he  was  educated  for  the  ministry  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  after  being  licensed  to  preach  the 
Gospel  he  became  schoolmaster  at  Markinch,  Fife,  and  having 
an  excellent  voice,  he  also  acted  as  precentor.  He  was  after- 
wards, about  1790,  ordained  minister  of  the  parish  of  Borth- 
wick,  in  Mid-Lothian.  Burns,  in  one  of  his  letters,  dated 
September,  1794,  thus  celebrates  him  for  his  vocal  skill : — 
"  I  am  flattered  at  your  adopting  '  Ca'  the  Yowes  to  the 
Knowes,'  as  it  was  owing  to  me  that  it  saw  the  light.  About 
seven  years  ago  T  was  well  acquainted  with  a  worthy  little  fel- 
low of  a  clergyman,  a  Mr  Clunie,  who  sang  it  charmingly,  and 
at  my  request  Mr  Clark  (Stephen  Clark,  the  composer)  took  ifr. 
down  from  his  singing."  He  was  minister  of  Borthwick  for 
twenty-seven  years,  and  died  at  Greenend,  Liberton,  in  1819. 

One  of  Burns'  songs,  "  Sae  far  awa',"  is  set  to  the  air  of 
"  Dalkeith's  Maiden  Brig,"  probably  the  old  Roman  Bridge 
in  Newbattle  grounds,  and  is  as  follows  : — 

Oh  sad  and  heavy  should  I  part, 

But  for  her  sake  sae  far  awa' ; 
Unknowing  what  my  way  may  thwart 

My  native  land  sae  far  awa'. 
Thou  that  of  a'  things  Maker  art, 

That  form'd  this  fair  sae  far  awa' ; 
Gi'e  body  strength,  then  I'll  ne'er  start 

At  this  my  way  sae  far  awa'. 

How  true  is  love  to  pure  desert, 

So  love  to  her,  sas  far  awa'  : 
An'  nocht  can  heal  my  bosom's  smart, 

While,  oh  !  she  is  sae  far  awa'. 
Nane    other    love,    nane   other    dart, 

I  feel  but  hers,  sae  far  awa, ; 
But  fairer  never  touch'd  a  heart 

Than  hers,  the  fair  sae  far  awa'. 


The  other  literary  associations  of  Newbattle  are  rich  and 
varied,  and  form  a  deeply  interesting  chapter  in  its  history. 

(235) 


XX. 

THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES 

i.—INVERESK. 

NOW  that  the  discussions  on  "How  Long"   and  the 
causes  of  non-church-going  have  died  down,  it  may 
be   interesting,    especially    at   this   time,    to   take   a 
glance  at  the  quaint  and  capacious  church  of   St. 
Michael,  Inveresk,  which,  owing  to  its  magnificent 
Situation,  has  for  generations  borne  the  local  name  of  "  The 
Visible  Kirk."     Visible,  indeed,  it  is  from  land  and  sea  for  a 
dozen  miles  and  more,  itself  commanding  one  of  the  richest 
and   most   far- stretching  views   in   Scotland,    with   the   loamy 
lands  of  the  Lothians  around  it,  the  Pentlands,  Moorfoots,  and 
Lammermuirs  in  the  distance,  Arthur's  Seat  couching  on  the 
west,  and  away  far  to  the  Highland  gates  the  masses  of  Ben 
Ledi,  Ben  Cruachan,  and  the  other  giants  which  bar  the  way 
between  the  lowlands  and  the  North.     The  Lomond  Hills  of 
Fife,    with   their   rounded   tops   and   dropping   slopes,   gleam 
across  the  Firth,  with  its  never-ceasing  life  of  steamer  and  of 
fishing  craft. 

This  was  the  spot  chosen  by  the  Roman  soldiers  for  one 
of  their  greatest  camps  and  stations,  and  the  remains  of  their 
presence  are  numerous,  altars  and  coins  and  earthenware  having 
been  recovered,  while  in  the  grounds  of  Inveresk  House  and 
of  the  modern  mansion  of  St  Michael's  there  are  many  relics 
of  the  presence  of  the  legionaries.  Probably  the  old  bridge 
of  Musselburgh,  "  the  honest  toun,"  which  boasts  three  shells 
as  its  crest,  was  built  by  these  wonderful  military  engineers, 
who  brought  with  them  to  Britain  that  marvellous  skill  in 
building  and  organising  material  forces  of  which  the  vast  aque- 
ducts and  cyclopaean  walls  of  Italy  are  still  eloquent.  From 
this  great  central  camp  the  Romans  carried  roads  inland.  It 
was  joined  to  the  great  "  Watling  Street,"  which  passes  from 
the  south  through  the  Channelkirk  moorlands  and  across  the 
Soutra  Hill  to  Borthwick.  A  road  was  carried  up  the  Esk  valley 

(236) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

to  Newbattle,  where  the  picturesque  "Maiden  Bridge,"  which  in 
its  ivy-covered  beauty — no  mean  rival  of  the  "auld  brig  o'Doon" 
— still  spans  the  sweetly  flowing  Esk,  bears  striking  testimony 
in  its  massive  sides  and  triple-ribbed  arch  to  the  lasting  char- 
acter of  their  engineering  work.  From  this  point  inland  the 
whole  neighbourhood  is  reminiscent  of  the  Roman  Eagles — 
Campend,  in  Newton;  Dalhousie  Chesters  (castra),  in  Cock- 
pen  ;  Borthwick  and  Heriot  have  all  their  memories  of  the 
vanquishers  of  Caledonia. 

After  the  departure  of  the  legionaries  from  Scotland,  the 
camp  at  Inveresk  changed  its  character  and  its  mission,  and  the 
stones  in  all  probability  were  used  to  build  the  first  Christian 
church  on  the  historic  hill-top.  Instead  of  the  golden  eagle, 
the  symbol  of  the  place  was  to  be  an  Agnus  Dei.  Nothing  is 
known  of  this  earliest  ecclesiastical  foundation,  but  the  old 
church  of  St  Michael,  which  was  pulled  down  in  1804,  was 
a  large  Gothic  structure,  which  probably,  as  in  the  case  of 
other  ancient  churches  built  on  the  sites  of  Roman  camps  and 
temples,  was  partially  built  of  the  old  heathen  stones.  It  was 
with  peculiar  appropriateness  that  the  church  on  Inveresk  hill 
was  dedicated  to  St  Michael  and  All  Angels.  It  was  on  a 
hill-top  that  the  archangel  wrestled  over  the  body  of  Moses, 
and  almost  all  the  churches  with  this  dedication  are  built  on 
lofty  sites,  overlooking  wide  stretches  of  country,  the  most 
remarkable  example  being  the  French  fortress-church,  bearing 
that  name,  which  towers  over  the  Gulf  of  Brittany.  Both 
England  and  Scotland  are  dotted  over  with  churches  dedicated 
to  the  conquering  angel,  while  there  are  four  Scottish  parishes 
of  the  same  name,  with  the  word  "  kirk"  as  a  prefix.  The 
beautifully  restored  church  of  St  Michael's,  Linlithgow,  has  a 
sculptured  image  of  the  angel,  whose  form  is  also  carved  in 
stone  at  Dallas,  painted  on  the  Aberdeen  Episcopal  "  Regist- 
rum,"  while  it  glows  in  the  magnificent  transept  window  of 
Christchurch  Cathedral,  Oxford,  .as  a  memorial  to  that  great 
and  distinguished  Scotsman,  William,  eighth  Marquess  of 
Lothian,  who  was  reputed  to  be  the  most  brilliant  student  ever 
sent  out  from  under  the  shadow  of  Big  Ben. 

There  is  no  tradition  as  to  whether  this  old  St  Michael's 
on  Inveresk  hill  had  a  spire  or  steeple  or  saddle-back  tower, 
but  at  any  rate  it  must  have,  like  its  successor,  formed  a  con- 
spicuous object  in  the  landscape,  whether  viewed  from  land  or 

(237) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

sea — not  unlike  the  stately  church  of  Notre  Dame  de  la  Garde, 
which  in  the  .bay  of  Marseilles  lifts  from  a  lofty  rock  its  ma- 
jestic tower,  crowned  like  its  Avignon  neighbour  with  a  colossal 
golden  statute  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  the  latter  holding  out 
his  infant  hands  in  blessing  over  the  blue  waters  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. 

The  Reformation  had  one  of  its  centres  in  Scotland  at 
Musselburgh,  the  reputed  miracle  of  the  curing  of  the  blind 
urchin  being  a  factor  in  the  stormy  movements  of  the  time. 
"Our  Lady  of  Loretto  "  was  a  famous  shrine,  and  when  the 
historic  church  in  the  low-lying  part  of  the  town  was  pulled 
down  and  re-erected  into  the  Town  Hall — a  quaint  old  build- 
ing still  doing  good  service — the  Pope  gave  his  ban  to  Mussel- 
burgh.  Nothing  is  known  of  what  happened  during  these 
stirring  times  to  St  Michael  on  the  hill,  but  the  storm  passed, 
as>d  the  reformed  faith  and  worship  were  established  and 
settled  in  the  place  of  the  old. 

"  The  grandest  demi-god  I  ever  saw,"  said  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  "  was  Dr  Carlyle,  minister  of  Muselburgh,  commonly 
called  Jupiter  Carlyle,  from  having  sat  more  than  once  for  the 
King  of  Gods  to  Gavin  Hamilton;  and  a  shrewd,  clever  old 
carle  was  he,  no  doubt,  but  no  more  a  poet  than  his  precentor." 
The  great  figure  of  Jupiter  Carlyle  fills  up  the  history  of  In- 
veresk  during  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century ;  indeed, 
so  powerful  was  his  influence  that  "  scarcely  a  Primate  of  the 
proud  church  of  England  could  over-top  in  social  position  and 
influence  the  Presbyterian  minister  of  Inveresk."  His  person- 
ality was  the  gathering-point  for  the  literary  and  social  forces 
of  the  day ;  his  influence  was  felt  all  over  the  south  of  Scot- 
land, and  the  story  of  his  life  as  told  by  himself  in  his  auto- 
biography is  the  most  valuable  record  we  possess  of  the  social 
and  religious  state  of  Scotland  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

A  splendid  example  he  was  of  an  independent,  spirited 
Scottish  minister,  who  feared  God  and  knew  no  other  fear, 
and  who  hated  all  shams,  whether  social  or  religious,  with  a 
perfect  hatred.  "  I  must  confess,"  is  one  of  his  memorable 
sentiments  addressed  to  those  who  cynically  observed  as  to  th& 
Church  of  Scotland,  with  its  comparatively  small  endowments, 
that  "  a  poor  Church  makes  a  pure  Church  " — "  I  must  con- 
fess that  I  do  not  love  to  hear  this  Church  called  a  poor 
Church,  or  the  poorest  Church  in  Christendom.  I  doubt  very 
much  that  if  it  were  minutely  inquired  into  this  is  really  the 

(238) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

fact.  But,  independent  of  that,  I  dislike  the  language  of 
whining  and  complaint.  We  are  rich  in  the  best  goods  a 
Church  can  have — the  learning,  the  manners,  and  the  char- 
acter of  its  members.  There  are  few  branches  of  literature 
in  which  the  ministers  of  this  Church  have  not  excelled.  There 
are  few  subjects  of  fine  writing  in  which  they  do  not  stand 
foremost  in  the  rank  of  authors,  which  is  a  prouder  boast  than 
all  the  pomp  of  the  hierarchy."  The  sentiments  of  the  min- 
ister by  the  Esk  strangely  harmonise  with  those  of  the  plough- 
man by  the  Doon ;  the  one  voice  in  the  Church,  and  the  other 
in  the  world,  spoke  for  that  generation  the  best  sentiments  of 
independent,  freedom- loving  Scotland. 

At  this  time  of  day  merry  thoughts  possess  the  mind  as 
one  thinks  of  the  Jupiter-like  divine  of  St  Michael's  having 
been  condemned  by  his  Presbytery  for  aiding,  abetting,  and 
encouraging  John  Home,  minister  of  the  East  Lothian  parish 
of  Athelstaneford,  in  the  production  of  his  very  mild  dramatic 
effort — "Douglas:  a  tragedy."  He  came  out  victorious  at 
the  General  Assembly,  escaping  with  a  mild  advice  from  the 
Moderator  neither  to  deal  with  plays  nor  frequent  theatres 
any  more. 

In  1745  Carlyle  watched  the  battle  of  Prestonpans  being 
fought  between  the  Royalists  from  the  quaint  round  tower  of 
Prestonpans  Church,  still  standing.  He  was  always  a  loyal 
son  of  the  house  of  Hanover,  and  was  all  through  his  life  a 
persona  grata  at  Court,  as  well  as  an  unmistakable  ornament 
in  every  way  to  the  society  of  his  time.  In  his  autobiography, 
he  gives  many  interesting  incidents  in  the  career  of  Prince 
Charlie — his  crossing  of  the  old  bridge  at  Musselburgh  with 
his  Highland  troops,  the  Royal  levee  and  review  at  Holyrood 
(at  which  he  himself  was  present),  the  very  appearance  of  the 
"  Bonnie  Prince,"  with  his  fine  features  and  sad  expression. 

For  long  the  old  church  where  he  ministered  was  found 
too  small  and  inconvenient  for  the  growing  town  at  the  Esk 
estuary,  and  in  1804  the  present  building  was  begun,  to  take 
the  place  of  the  ancient  edifice,  the  stones  of  which  are  incor- 
porated in  the  present  church.  The  old  man  hoped  to  have 
had  the  gratification  of  opening  it  on  the  first  Sunday  of  Aug- 
ust 1805,  "  were  it  only  with  a  brief  prayer,"  but  his  wishes 
were  not  to  be  gratified,  for  illness  so  pressed  upon  him  that 
he  could  not  be  present,  and  he  died  on  the  25th  of  that 
month. 

(239) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

His  two  sucessors  in  the  ministerial  office  of  Inveresk,  Mr 
Moodie  and  Mr  Beveridge,  with  him  cover  a  period  of  a  century 
and  a  half, — a  remarkable  record,  hard  to  beat  in  any  Scottish 
parish.  The  new  church  was  typical  of  the  time, — the  style  of 
architecture  called  "  Heritors'  Gothic,"  now  happily  a  thing 
of  the  past  so  far  as  both  churches  and  heritors  are  concerned. 
The  building  consisted  at  first  of  a  great  square  teacaddy-look- 
ing  building,  with  no  adornments  or  spire,  or  anything  to 
divert  the  mind  from  the  unseen  beauties  of  the  Faith.  It  was 
suggested  to  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch  that  a  spire  would  be  an  im- 
provement, though  "  a  very  little  one;  "  to  which  suggestion  his 
Grace,  who  was  a  patron  and  heritor,  replied  that  there  should 
be  a  spire  at  each  corner — a  suggestion  which  happily  was  not 
acted  on,  as  the  edifice  might  to  the  wit-loving  folks  of  the 
honest  town  have  suggested  a  dirty  and  weather-beaten  brides- 
cake  on  the  hill-top.  One  steeple  was  subsequently  added  to 
the  quaint  edifice,  and  forms  a  landmark  for  all  the  country 
and  the  sea,  over  which  it  towers  in  dignified  simplicity.  The 
fine  restoration  of  twelve  years  ago,  instigated  and  carried  out 
with  so  much  enthusiasm  by  minister  and  people,  has  made  the 
historic  place,  especially  internally,  worthy  of  divine  worship, 
and  of  its  dedication  to  those  whose  motto — written  to-day  in 
letters  of  gold  on  the  archway  above  the  magnificent  organ — is, 
"  Praise  ye  the  Lord." 

One  other  personage  connected  with  this  interesting  "  vis- 
ible kirk," — one  among  many  who  have  worshipped  in  and 
laboured  on  the  side  of  the  angels  on  this  hill-top, — cannot  be 
passed  over  without  a  grateful  recollection.  The  beloved 
physician-poet  of  Musselburgh,  "  Delta  Moir,"  had  in  church 
and  town  the  joyful  sphere  of  his  literary  labours.  The 
humorous  author  of  "  Mansie  Wauch,"  the  pathetic  writer  of 
"  Elegiac  Effusions,"  the  learned  minstrel  who  sang  of  the 
memories  of  Seton,  and  Hawthornden,  and  Newbattle,  and  the 
rest,  lies  in  the  churchyard  taking  his  last  sleep.  His  "con- 
tentions "  with  the  bodies  and  souls  of  those  to  whom  he  min- 
istered will  never  be  forgotten.  Straying  one  day  through  the 
autumn-tinted  woods  which  clothe  the  Inveresk  hill,  he  wrote 
these  words  : — 

'In  gazing  o'er  a  scene  so  fair 
Well  may  the  wondering  mind  compare 
Majestic  nature  with  the  strife 
And  littleness  of  human  life  ! 
(240) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

Within  the  rank  and  narow  span 
Where  man  contends  with  brother  man, 
And  where,  a  few  brief  seasons  past, 
Death  is  the  common  doom  at  last." 

Standing  on  the  time-honoured  old  hill,  with  its  countless  mem- 
ories, and  looking  around  on  the  historic  scenes  and  active 
life  and  silent  death  around  it,  St.  Michael's  vision  comes 
before  the  eyes.  "  The  chariots  of  God  are  twenty  thousand, 
even  thousands  of  angels.  The  Lord  is  among  them,  as  in 
Sinai,  in  the  Holy  Place." 

ii.— THE  HOUSE  OF  SOUTRA. 

The  view  from  Soutrahill  is  one  of  the  very  finest  in 
Scotland,  embracing  the  Lothians  and  all  the  lands  around  the 
Forth.  The  ancient  "  Domus  de  Soltre  "  or  the  Soutra  mon 
astery  was  a  monastery,  hospital,  and  sanctuary.  Pilgrims 
from  the  South  of  Scotland  to  Edinburgh  made  it  their  resting- 
place,  so  that  on  that  bleak,  storm-swept,  lonely  hill-top  of 
the  Lammermuirs  it  served  something  of  the  same  purpose  as 
the  Great  St.  Bernard  in  the  Alps  for  pilgrims  from  France  to 
Italy.  The  ancient  Roman  military  road, — "  Watling  Street," 
— crossed  the  Borders  at  Carter  Fell  and  onward  to  Channel- 
kirk  and  Soutrahill,  and  thence  to  Borthwick,  —  this  ancient 
road  being  distinctly  traceable  in  the  different  colour  of  the 
grass  and  the  solid  stone  foundation  beneath  it.  Quite  poss- 
ibly the  Roman  soldiers  may  have  had  a  camp  at  this  hill-top, 
as  they  had  at  Channelkirk,  and  the  church  and  monastery,  as 
in  so  many  other  cases,  may  have  superseded  the  military 
station.  The  House  of  Soutra, — the  "  St.  Bernard's  "  of  the 
Lammermuirs, — was  founded  in  1164,  by  King  Malcolm,  "  for 
the  entertainment  of  pilgrims."  Possibly  the  foundation 
of  Soutra  monastery  may  have  been  a  year  or  two  earlier. 
[See  Rev.  James  Hunter's  valuable  work  on  Fala  and  Soutra.] 
Chalmers,  in  his  "  Caledonia,"  says  it  was  "  the  best  en- 
dowed house  in  Scotland,"  and  the  Chartulary,  preserved,  like 
the  Newbattle  one,  in  the  Advocates'  Library  in  Edinburgh, 
proves  it  to  have  been  one  of  the  wealthiest  religious  houses  in 
the  land,  possessing  properties  all  around, — in  Channelkirk, 
Elphinston,  Ormiston,  Haddington,  Cranston,  Kirkurd, 
Temple,  Mount  Lothian,  Earlston,  Lauder,  Edinburgh,  and 
elsewhere.  By  the  charter  of  Malcolm  the  Maiden,  the  house 
Q  (240 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

was  recognised  as  a  hospital  for  pilgrims,  a  shelter  for  the 
destitute,  and  a  sanctuary  for  the  oppressed  and  persecuted. 
The  charter  of  Pope.  Gregory  IX.  says, — "  If  in  future  any 
person,  ecclesiastic  or  layman,  aware  of  this  writing  of  con- 
firmation shall  do  anything  contrary  to  the  tenor  thereof,  let 
him  know  that  he  thereby  renders  himself  liable  to  divine  pun- 
ishment, and  becomes  alienated  from  the  Most  Holy  Body  and 
Blood  of  our  Redeemer,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  but  upon  all 
who  keep  these  laws  may  the  peace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
descend,  and  may  they  have  the  reward  of  everlasting  peace." 
(A.D.  1236.)  This  charter  is  the  first  indication  of  the  house 
having  come  under  the  rule  of  Rome.  The  house  all  through 
the  middle  ages  was  a  hospice  for  the  lonely  traveller  crossing 
the  bleak  Lammermuirs,  as  well  as  a  wealthy  place  of  enter- 
tainment for  distinguished  visitors.  The  fathers  exercised 
medical  and  surgical  skill  on  all  who  came,  while  the  "  Trinity 
Well,"  or  "  Ternity  Well,"  as  it  is  called, — a  spring  of  bright 
pure  water  still  bubbling  on  the  steep  roadside, — was  a  favour- 
ite place  of  pilgrimage  for  sick  folks,  who  declared  its  miracu- 
lous powers.  Like  all  great  monasteries,  "  Trinity  College," 
Soutra,  had  the  right  of  sanctuary,  and  a  chain  marked  the 
sacred  place,  which  no  one  dare  invade  without  permission,  as 
at  Newbattle,  and,  until  quite  recent  times,  at  Holyrood. 

In  its  earlier  days  Soutra  Hospital  seems  to  have  been  uiv 
attached  to  any  particular  order,  but  in  course  of  time  the  Pope, 
at  the  desire  of  the  Master  and  Brethren,  put  them  under 
the  rule  of  the  Augustinians,  Canons  Regular  or  Black  Friars. 
Their  dress  was  a  black  cloak  over  a  black  cassock,  and 
reminiscences  of  their  presence  and  appearance  still  exist  in 
the  names  of  the  district,  Blackshiels,  Brothershiels,  Brother- 
stane,  &c.  The  Brothers  had  a  mill,  as  usual,  on  the  Lin- 
dean  burn,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  monastery,  the  road 
passing  near  Woodcot,  by  the  side  of  which  still  bubbles  the 
"  Friar's  "  or  "  Prior's  "  well.  The  brethren,  like  the  great 
St.  Bernard  monks  of  the  high  Alps,  were  great  travellers,  and 
Alexander  I.,  in  1182,  gave  them  a  special  safe-conduct  and 
protection.  The  master  was  always  a  man  of  high  position  in 
the  church. 

In  1462,  Mary  of  Gueldres,  the  widow  of  James  II., 
(who  was  killed  by  the  bursting  of  a  cannon  at  Roxburgh 
Castle),  with  the  consent  of  Archbishop  Kennedy  of  St.  An- 

(242) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

drews,  founded  Trinity  College  and  Hospital  in  Edinburgh, 
at  the  foot  of  the  Calton  Hill,  now  covered  by  the  Waverley 
Station,  and  transferred  the  princely  revenues  of  Soutra  to  this 
new  collegiate  institution,  which,  in  its  rebuilt  form,  rises  above 
the  Waverley  Station  on  the  opposite  side  from  the  Calton 
Hill,  and  is  called  "Trinity  College  Church."  The  original 
revenues  of  Trinity  College  of  Soutrahill  were  divided  in 
perpetuity  between  the  provost  and  eight  prebendaries  of  the 
new  Edinburgh  house, — the  master,  who  received  the  rents  of 
Falahill,  Strathmartin,  &c. ;  the  sacristan,  who  received  those 
of  Gilston,  Brotherstane,  Balerno,  &c. ;  the  other  prebendaries 
having  the  old  lands  and  livings  apportioned  to  them,  and  they 
themselves  took  the  names  of  the  lands  from  which  they  drew 
their  livings,  being  called  the  prebendaries  of  Brotherstane, 
Gilston,  Strathmartin,  Ormiston  Hill,  Newlands,  &c.,  although 
serving  in  the  new  Edinburgh  house.  Henceforward  the  church 
of  Soutra  was  served  by  a  vicar,  and  the  provost  and  chapter 
of  the  new  Trinity  College  in  Edinburgh  became  patrons  of 
the  various  livings  held  by  the  old  house.  At  the  Reformation 
the  Lord  Provost  and  magistrates  were  acknowledged  by  Queen 
Mary  as  proprietors  both  of  the  old  house  and  lands  on  Soutra- 
hill and  of  the  new  Trinity  College  and  all  its  revenues  in  Edin- 
burgh. 

In  1542  James  V.  gathered  an  army  of  30,000  men  at 
Soutrahill.  Somewhere  about  this  time  the  King  lost  himself 
in  the  moors  and  woods  which  surround  the  monastery  on  every 
side,  and  came  at  last  to  a  shepherd's  house, — that  of  John 
Pringle,  shepherd  to  Sir  William  Borthwick,  who  held  the 
lands  of  Soutra  from  the  Edinburgh  Trinity  College,  the  in- 
stitution having  been  removed  a  hundred  years  before.  King 
James  never  revealed  his  identity,  but  the  shepherd  suspected 
high  rank  in  his  guest,  and  had  the  best  hen  in  the  yard 
roasted  for  the  supper.  In  the  morning,  as  a  token  of  his 
appreciation  of  the  shepherd's  hospitality  and  the  bird's  ap- 
petising qualities, — though,  doubtless,  the  splendid  clear  hill 
air  did  something  to  sharpen  the  royal  appetite, — he  made 
Pringle  a  gift  of  the  lands  of  the  "  Beadsman's  Acres,"  which 
remained  in  the  family  till  early  in  the  nineteenth  century, 
when  the  Laird  of  Soutra  Mains  bought  it.  The  Pringles  are 
buried  in  the  transept  on  Soutrahill, — called  the  "  Aisle," — 
the  only  portion  left  of  the  great  building,  though  the  founda- 

(243) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

tions  can  be  traced  all  over  the  hill-top.  On  one  of  the  stone 
doors  of  the  aisle  there  is  an  inscription  to  several  Pringles, 
renewed  as  lately  as  1827.  The  lonely  aisle  forms  a  promi- 
nent object  in  the  landscape,  breaking  the  evenness  of  the  bare 
hill  and  descried  from  the  farthest  distances.  When  the  house 
was  in  its  glory  the  great  building  must  have  been  a  conspicu- 
ous landmark  from  every  side,  towering  above  the  brown  moors. 
The  old  ballad,  sung  by  wandering  strollers  in  days  gone  by, — 
"The  Guidwife  of  Soutra," — tells  the  story  of  the  shepherd 
and  the  King  t — 

"  Hae  ye  no  heard  o'  the  guid  auld  times 

When  Pringle  was  sae  luckie 
To  get  a  lump  o'  Soutrahill 
Just  for  a  roasted  chuckle." 

Pringle  had  good  reason  to  bless  his  poultry-yard  and  his 
chuckie. 

After  the  Reformation  the  vicarage  and  parish  of  Soutra 
were  united  with  those  of  Fala  ("  Faulawe  "  :  cf  Falkirk  or 
Fa-kirk),  or  the  sloping  declivity,  the  parish  church  of  which 
was  dedicated  to  St.  Modan,  and  which  had,  like  Soutra,  been 
under  the  Edinburgh  Trinity  College.  The  Trinity  College 
in  Edinburgh  consisted  of  nine  clergy,  two  clerks  or  choristers, 
and  thirteen  alms-men,  who  wore  blue  gowns.  Matins  were 
said  daily  at  5  a.m  from  Pentecost  to  Michaelmas,  and  at  6 
a.m.  during  the  other  six  months.  After  service  the  canons 
every  day  visited  the  tomb  of  the  foundress, — Queen  Mary, 
who  was  buried  there  on  November  16,  1463, — sprinkling  it 
with  hyssop  and  reciting  the  "  De  Profundis."  The  revenues 
amounted  to  .£362,  6s  3d.  The  nave  was  never  completed, 
but  the  present  aged  structure  is  very  fine,  and  makes  a  strik- 
ing feature  in  the  interesting  church  which  has  had  so  many 
vicissitudes,  the  stones  having  lain  out  on  the  Calton  Hill  for 
years,  numbered  and  marked,  after  the  removal  from  the  old 
site  at  Leith  Wynd  and  prior  to  their  re-erection  at  the  present 
site.  The  present  charities  known  as  "  Trinity  Hospital," 
Edinburgh,  and  "  Trinity  House,"  Leith,  derive  their  funds 
from  the  ancient  establishment. 

At  Burghlee,  at  the  foot  of  Soutrahill,  James  Logan  was 
born  and  bred,  and  possibly  it  may  have  been  here  that  he 
wrote  or  got  the  idea  of  the  second  and  other  'paraphrases. 
At  any  rate,  the  wild  Lammermuir, — stretching  across  from 
the  old  monastery  to  Channelkirk  and  Carfraemill, — with  its 

(244) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

dreary,  bleak  road,  marked  with  snow  -  posts,  is  suggestive 
enough  of  "each  perplexing  path  of  life"  and  "this 
weary  pilgrimage."  In  the  old  days  the  monastery  hill-top 
was  the  token  of  rest,  shelter,  guidance,  and  comfort;  but 
to  Logan  this  sight  of  the  long  weary  winding  road,  with  its 
snow  -  posts,  and  exposure,  suggested  the  need  of  a  divine 
guide. 

Whether  the  "  domestic  hymn-prayer "  of  Scotland,— 
sung  so  often  on  occasions  of  parting,  or  when,  wreathed  with 
veil  and  orange-blossom,  the  youthful  bride  bids  farewell  at 
the  altar  to  her  father's  house  and  her  mother's  loving  care, — 
was  inspired  by  the  wild  loneliness  of  the  Lammermuir  with 
the  old  God's  House  as  its  only  landmark,  save  the  snow-posts 
and  the  shepherd's  hut  at  Huntershall  marking  the  place  where 
Edinburghshire,  Haddingtonshire,  and  Berwickshire  meet, — 
whether  that  is  an  historical  fact  or  not,  at  any  rate  the 
scenery  of  the  place  is  suggested  in  almost  every  line  : — "  O 
God  of  Bethel," — the  lonely  pilgrim  house  on  the  hill-top  over- 
looking moorlands,  rich  pastures  and  fields,  far- stretching  sea 
and  distant  islands ;  "by  whose  hand  Thy  people  still  are 
fed  " — suggestive  of  the  hand- feeding  of  the  sheep  on  those 
bleak  slopes  where  sounding  rushes  and  brown  peat  are  more 
frequent  than  the  grass  and  the  clover ;  ' '  who  through  this 
weary  pilgrimage  hast  all  our  fathers  led," — the  long  three 
miles  and  more  of  road  with  its  guiding  snow-posts  and  foot- 
sore travellers ;  ' '  our  vows  our  prayers  we  now  present  before 
Thy  throne  of  grace," — pointing  upwards  to  the  once  spacious 
and  magnificent  House  of  Prayer,  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Trin- 
ity, where  day  and  night  of  old  the  sacrifice  was  offered  and 
the  prayer  was  made ;  ' '  God  of  our  fathers  be  the  God  of  their 
succeeding  race," — the  fathers  are  asleep,  but  the  stream  of 
pilgrims  still  passes  across  the  hill  of  life  and  needs  the  old 
guide  and  pilot ;  ' '  through  each  perplexing  path  of  life  our 
wandering  footsteps  guide," — the  mists  on  the  moor  and  the 
snow-drifts  often  in  this  very  place  causing  the  traveller  to 
lose  his  way,  and  the  moorlands  around  Soutra  have  many 
traditions  of  such  incidents;  "give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread  and  raiment  fit  provide," — suggestive  of  the  food  and 
fresh  clothing  given  at  the  House  of  Soutra  to  the  way-worn, 
travel-stained  pilgrim;  "  O  spread  Thy  covering  wings  around, 
till  all  our  wanderings  cease,"  —  reminiscent  of  the  wide 

(245) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

broad  pinions  of  some  of  the  large  moorland  birds  as  they 
swoop  across  the  blue  with  an  ever-keen  eye  on  the  nest  of 
young  among  the  rushes;  "and  at  our  Father's  loved  abode 
our  souls  arrive  in  peace," — the  safe  arrival  of  the  pilgrim  at 
the  House  which  crowns  the  hill  and  ends  the  weary  journey ; 
the  closing  verse  of  the  paraphrase  gathers  up  the  pilgrim-idea 
of  the  place  and  the  rest  of  the  House  that  is  on  high. 
The  whole  pilgrim-idea  of  the  paraphrase  and  the  place  is 
identical  with  Archbishop  Leighton's  idea  of  life  and  his 
wish  to  die  in  an  inn, — "  so  like  a  pilgrim  going  home  who 
was  weary  of  the  turmoil  and  dustiness  of  the  road," — an  idea 
as  old  as  St.  Paul  who  besought  his  hearers  "  as  strangers  and 
pilgrims," — as  old  as  Egypt  and  the  Vedic  age  of  India, — as 
old  as  Jacob  who  leant  upon  his  staff  and  worshipped,  sleep- 
ing on  the  rude  stones  of  Bethel,  which,  in  his  vision,  became 
the  first  steps  of  the  radiant  angel-thronged  heavenly  stair- 
case. 

Soutrahill  is  literally  the  hill  of  the  shoemaker  (cf  the 
"  Souter  Johnnie  "  of  Burns,  and  the  song, — "  Up  wi'  the 
Souters  o'  Selkirk  "),  and  this  adds  to  the  vividness  of  the 
pilgrim-idea, — the  weary  sole  of  the  traveller  and  the  rest  to 
the  footsore.  So  the  past  generations  weaved  their  life-web 
and  are  asleep  : — 

"  He  dropped  the  shuttle,  the  loom  stood  still, — 

The  weaver  slept  in  the  twilight  grey  : 
Dear  heart,  he  will  weave  his  beautiful  web 
In  the  golden  light  of  a  longer  day." 

The  weary  soul  gets  rest  and  the  life-web  gets  finished. 

m._CRICHTON  COLLEGE. 

The  most  interesting  memories  and  the  most  varied  of  the 
Tyne  district  surround  Crichton  Castle  and  its  collegiate 
Church  of  St.  Mary  and  St.  Mungo.  Mainly  through  the 
generous  dealings  of  the  present  laird  of  Prestonhall,  the  old 
church  has  lately  been  restored  from  a  condition  of  filth,  ruin, 
decay,  and  desolation,  in  which  it  had  remained  for  genera- 
tions, into  a  stately,  inspiring  house  of  prayer.  The  church 
consists  only  of  a  beautiful  chancel,  transepts,  and  saddle-back 
tower,  for  the  nave  was  never  finished.  It  was  founded  on 
pth  December,  1449,  by  the  great  Lord  Chancellor,  Sir  William 
Crichton,  whose  stately  and  historic  castle,  in  ruins,  rises  be- 

(246) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

side  the  church.  The  clergy  consisted  of  a  provost  and  eight 
prebendaries  or  chaplains,  two  singing  boys,  and  a  sacristan. 
There  were  four  special  stalls  in  the  gift  of  the  Archbishop 
of  St.  Andrews,— those  of  Vogrie,  Arniston,  Middleton,  and 
Locherworth  (Loquhariot),  —  small  villages  round  about  the 
church,  which  still  exist,  the  second  of  them  having,  through  the 
great  development  of  the  mining  industry,  commenced  by  the 
monks  of  Newbattle  in  the  fifteenth  century,  who,  Father  Hay 
says,  gave  the  poor  "black  stones"  (coals)  instead  of  bread,  be- 
come a  prosperous  town,  better  known  as  Gorebridge. 

The  situation  of  this  church  on  the  face  of  a  lonely  veldt- 
like  hill,  far  from  all  human  habitations,  and  originally  simply 
the  private  chapel  of  the  great  Crichton,  is  in  keeping  with 
the  architecture,  which,  though  stately  and  impressive,  is  ex- 
tremely plain  Gothic,  with  little  or  no  ornamentation  save  a 
wreath  of  stone  flower-work  on  the  outside  chancel  walls  and 
a  few  carved  heads  above  the  windows,  representing  monastic 
faces  in  all  conditions  of  sadness  and  gladness,  humour  and 
misery.  The  six  inside  pillars  are  garlanded  at  the  top.  The 
tower  has  a  low  bell-gable.  Crichton  grew  in  course  of  time 
into  a  wealthy  and  powerful  ecclesiastical  institution,  and  un- 
fortunately, before  the  Reformation,  became,  like  Melrose  and 
other  abbeys,  from  various  causes,  lax  and  careless.  Father 
Hay  describes  "  the  voluptuous  life  of  the  canons,"  and  the 
monk  of  Cambuskenneth  describes  their  "  fidgetting  in  the 
stalls,  the  lawsuits  in  church,  the  payment  of  Easter  dues  and 
tithes  within  the  sanctuary,  the  eating,  drinking,  and  sleeping 
permitted  when  workmen  gave  up  work  at  an  hour  too  late  for 
their  return  home  or  people  came  from  far,  and  the  binding  of 
sick  pilgrims  to  the  pillars  in  the  hope  of  being  healed."  The 
revenues  of  the  establishment  amounted  to  ,£133,  6s  8d,  and 
on  the  dissolution  of  the  religious  orders  at  the  Reformation 
the  forfeitures  were  granted  to  Patrick,  Lord  Hales,  who  by 
James  VI.  was  created  Lord  Creyghton.  The  last  provost, 
Sir  Gideon  Murray,  had  the  church  lands  of  Crichton  created 
into  a  temporal  estate,  just  as  in  the  case  of  Newbattle,  where 
the  last  abbot  was  made  commendator  of  the  entire  property. 

The  great  Sir  William  Crichton,  who,  "out  of  thankful- 
ness and  gratitude  to  Almighty  God  for  all  the  manifold 
deliverances  he  had  vouchsafed  to  him,"  founded  this  interest- 
ing college,— one  of  some  forty  scattered  over  Scotland,— 

(247) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

dedicated,  like  Borthwick,  Penicuik,  and  other  Mid-Lothian 
sanctuaries,  to  St.  Mungo  the  Beloved, — was  a  man  of  ancient 
family  and  immense  power.  The  barony  of  Crichton  goes 
back  to  the  reign  of  Malcolm  III.,  and  in  the  foundation  char- 
ter of  Holyrood  by  David  L,  Thurstanes  de  Creichton  is  a 
witness.  In  1240,  William  de  Crichton  is  mentioned  as  "  lord 
of  Crichton,"  while  his  son  was  one  of  the  barons  who  in  1296 
swore  allegiance  to  Edward  I.  The  great  chancellor  was  the 
guardian  of  James  I.,  and  had  many  strange  experiences  in 
connection  with  the  boy-king,  being  besieged  in  Edinburgh 
Castle,  but  at  last,  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  royal  favour, 
he  died  in  1454.  Many  great  Crichtons  adorn  the  page  of 
Scottish  history,  notably  the  "Admirable  Crichton"  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  who  was  one  of  the  moving  spirits  of  Scot- 
land during  the  reigns  of  Queen  Mary  and  James  VI.  Bishop 
Crichton  of  Dunkeld  was  the  Prelate  who  in  1539,  on  the  ex- 
amination of  Dean  .Thomas  Forrest,  Vicar  of  Dollar,  for 
heresy, — (burned  for  his  Reformation  principles), — declared 
that  he  was  glad  he  "  never  knew  what  either  Old  or  New 
Testament  meant,  for  as  for  him  he  would  know  nothing  but 
his  breviary  and  pontifical."  Another  Crichton,  of  Brunstane 
in  Mid-Lothian,  was  banished  by  the  Regent  Arran  at  the  Re- 
formation for  his  reformed  views.  Crichton  Castle,  the  seat 
of  this  ancient  family,  is  described  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  in 
"  Marmion  "  as  the  place  where  that  hero  lodged,  but  which, 
he  declares,  is  now  the  resting-place  of  miry  cattle. 
"  That  castle  rises  on  the  steep 

Of  the  green  vale  of  Tyne; 

And  far  beneath,  where  slow  they  creep 

From  pool  to  eddy,  dark  and  deep, 

Where  alders  moist  and  willows  weep, 

You  hear  her  streams  repine." 

All  these  alders  and  willows  are  now  away,  —  used 
to  make  gunpowder-charcoal  during  the  Napoleonic  wars  and 
scares,  and  now  the  valley  is  a  veldt.  But  the  castle  still 
stands  in  its  picturesque  and  lonely  watch,  with  its  graceful 
portico  and  beautiful  grand  hall; 

"The  towers  in  different  ages  rose; 

Their  various  architecture  shows 

The  builders'  various  hands;" 

and  the  old  church  is  there,  with  its  mingled  memories  and  its 
restored  beauty  and  risen  hopes.  Queen  Mary  stayed  at 
Crichton  Castle  with  Darnley,  as  she  stayed  at  Borthwick 
Castle  with  Bothwell. 

(248) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

Ancient  and  venerable  as  these  buildings  are,  they  are 
juveniles  compared  with  the  pre-historic  Picts'  House  in  the 
neighbouring  farm  of  Crichton  Mains,  discovered  some  fifteen 
years  ago,  with  its  underground  dwelling  and  human  remains. 
It  is  almost  the  only  underground  dwelling  of  early  man  dis- 
covered in  Mid-Lothian,  and  is  undoubtedly  the  oldest  habit- 
ation in  the  neighbourhood,  and  makes  even  the  old  castle  and 
college  young  and  recent. 

Exactly  opposite  Crichton  Church,  on  the  other  side  of 
the  veldt-like  valley,  stands  the  ancient  farm  of  Hagbrae, 
which  got  its  name  from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  favourite  place 
for  the  burning  of  Mid-Lothian  witches  or  "hags"  for  two 
hundred  years  after  the  Reformation.  To-day  it  is  a  large 
red-tiled  establishment,  in  full  view  of  Crichton  College 
Church,  so  that  the  expiring  hag  might  through  the  flames  of 
her  pyre  catch  sight  of  the  holy  place,  whose  God  she  had 
profaned. 

Crichton  Castle  was  far  more  splendid  than  the  usual 
Scottish  castles  of  the  period.  Its  twisted  stone  cordage,  ros- 
ettes, and  ornaments  tell  of  fine  taste.  Its  magnificent  stair- 
case and  gallery  are  the  admiration  of  every  visitor,  and  though 
the  "  miry  kine "  sometimes  have  their  home  there,  as  Sir 
Walter  Scott  poetically  observes,  the  castle  still  strikes  one  by 
its  grandeur  and  proportion.  The  horrible  dungeon  called 
"  Massie  More," — a  foreign  name  used  of  the  same  oubliettes, 
dungeons  in  Moorish  castles  in  Spain,  and  doubtless  brought 
to  Scotland  by  foreign  travellers, — is  there  still,  as  terrible  as 
the  bottle- dungeon  in  the  Castle  of  St.  Andrews  or  the  awful 
oubliette  in  the  Castle  of  Chillon  on  the  shore  of  the  blue  lake 
of  Geneva.  Sir  Walter  Scott's  poetic  pictures  of  Crichton 
Castle  in  "  Marmion  "  are  among  his  very  finest  efforts. 

The  hut  of  "  Camp  Meg,"  the  famous  Newbattle  witch- 
doctor of  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  away  up 
on  the  top  of  the  Roman  Camp  Hill,  overlooked  Hagbrae  on 
the  other  side.  Had  "  Camp  Meg  "  lived  a  century  earlier 
she  would  doubtless  have  been  sacrificed  like  hundreds  of  other 
uncanny  folks  of  these  dark  days.  At  Longfaugh  there  are 
very  perfect  remains  of  a  Roman  camp ;  while  in  Crichton  glen 
the  summer  display  of  glow-worms  is  wonderful.  An  old 
minister  of  Crichton,  writing  of  this  feature,  says  that  the  late 
visitor  to  the  glen  "  will  find  himself  amply  rewarded  in  the 
brilliant  display  of  shining  lamps  which  the  little  illuminati 

(249) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

of  the  glen  are  ever  and  anon  beaming  out  around  him.  They 
are  best  in  July  and  August,  and  at  the  beginning  of  Sep- 
tember are  extinguished  for  the  season."  The  beautiful  seat 
of  Costerton,  with  its  sweet  primrose  glen,  was  in  1840  the 
residence  of  the  Very  Rev.  Francis  Nicoll,  D.D.,  principal  of 
the  United  College,  St.  Andrews. 


IV._COCKPEN  CHURCH. 

The  proper  name  of  this  beautiful  and  historical  parish  is 
"  Gowkpen "  or  the  "Cuckoo-hill."  The  presence  in  the 
early  spring  of  the  cuckoo  in  the  richly-wooded  Esk  valleys 
is  recorded  in  the  names  of  other  places  in  the  vicinity.  Gowks- 
hill  on  the  opposite  hill  is  the  "  hill  of  the  cuckoo,"  while 
Penicuik,  further  up  the  Esk,  means  exactly  the  same  as  Cock- 
pen, — with  the  distinctive  parts  of  the  word  transposed, — "  the 
hill  of  the  cuckoo  "  :  between  "gowk-pen"  and  "pen-i-gowk" 
there  is  no  great  difference.  The  old  Scottish  farce  of  April 
ist,  "  huntigowk,"  gives  an  idea  of  the  date  when  the  bird 
of  spring  appears  in  the  lands  around  the  Esks, — with  the1 
corncrake  as  its  companion  spring  visitant,  although,  in  fact, 
it  is  May  before  the  voice  of  either  is  heard  in  the  land. 

Old  Cockpen  Church, — the  ivy-clad  ruins  of  which  ar6 
still  standing  at  the  Butlerfield  end  of  the  parish, — was  a 
chapel  under  Newbattle  Abbey,  and  was  served  from  thence. 
It  is  a  simple  nave,  strongly  reminiscent  of  Alloway  Kirk,  and 
contains,  among  many  interesting  memorials,  the  monument 
to  the  great  Marquess  of  Dalhousie,  Viceroy  of  India,  who 
guided  the  destinies  of  millions  of  the  human  race. 

William  Knox,  nephew  of  John  Knox  the  Reformer,  was 
minister  of  Cockpen,  and  took  a  strong  part  in  the  movement 
initiated  by  the  Presbytery  of  Dalkeith  to  remove  the  images 
and  altars  of  the  neighbouring  Roslin  Chapel.  As  at  Cross- 
raguel  under  the  patronage  of  the  Kennedys,  so  at  Roslin  under 
the  patronage  of  the  St.  Clairs,  great  difficulty  was  experienced 
in  accomplishing  the  removal  of  the  superstitious  elements  in 
the  church  and  worship.  John  Knox's  family  is  closely  linked 
with  this  part  of  Mid-Lothian.  It  was  probably  at  Gifford- 
gate,  Haddington,  that  the  Reformer  was  born, — a  scion  of 
the  Gifford  branch  of  the  Knox  family,  which  originally  be- 
longed to  Ranfurlie,  Renfrewshire,  and  of  which  the  foremost 

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THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

living  representation  is  Uchter  John  Mark  Knox,  fifth  Earl 
of  Ranfurlie,  and  until  recently  Governor- General  of  New 
Zealand.  William  Knox,  son  of  the  Reformer's  brother,  suc- 
ceeded his  father  as  minister  of  Cockpen,  and  his  son  John  was 
minister  of  Carrington  from  1619-61.  It  was  he  who  in  1641 
preached  in  Newbattle  Church  at  the  ordination  of  Robert 
Leighton,  afterwards  the  saintly  Archbishop.  Mr  John  Knox, 
a  son  of  this  Carrington  minister,  was  his  father's  colleague 
and  successor  from  1653-1659.  Cockpen,  therefore,  had  two 
generations  of  Knox  in  its  pulpit,  the  Reformer's  nephew  and 
grand-nephew,  while  Carrington  had  also  two,  the  Reformer's 
great-grand-nephew  and  great-great-grand-nephew.  On  the  occa- 
sion of  a  great  fire  in  the  then  extensive  village  of  Newbottle, 
a  collection  was  made  in  Cockpen  for  the  distressed  folks  in  the 
neighbouring  valley,  and  is  still  recorded  in  the  minutes.  Roman 
remains  exist  in  Cockpen,  and  the  very  name  of  "  Dalhousie 
Chesters  "  signifies  the  camp  ("  castra  ")  at  Dalhousie.  Cock- 
pen  was  originally  a  chapel  under  and  served  by  Newbattle 
Abbey,  and  part  of  the  lands  of  Cockpen  still  belong  through 
commendatorship  to  the  House  of  Newbattle. 

The  old  bell  of  Cockpen, — now  included  in  the  new  bell 
recently  erected  in  the  beautiful  church  tower, — was  originally 
the  bell  in  Kinkell  parish  in  the  north.  That  parish  became 
bankrupt,  and  the  minister  was  hanged  for  a  crime,  and  on  the 
head  of  these  troubles  the  precentor  drowned  himself.  Fin- 
ally, all  the  church's  moveables  were  sold  to  pay  debts, — in- 
cluding the  bell,  which  was  bought  by  Cockpen,  and  one  of 
the  minister's  books — (Catalogue  of  the  Oxford  Bodleian  Li- 
brary, 1620), — which  came  to  Newbattle  and  is  still  included 
in  the  Leighton  library  there,  and  bears  the  inscription  : — 
"  1625.  Mr  J.  Cheyn,  parson  of  Kinkell,  Act  40."  The 
writing  is  very  faded,  and  the  volume,  bound  in  vellum,  does 
not  even  mention  Shakespeare  in  the  list  of  works  in  the  great 
Oxford  library.  A  rhyme  as  to  these  disasters  used  to  be 
current  both  at  Kinkell  and  Cockpen  : — 

O  what  a  parish  is  that  of  Kinkell, 
Hanged  the  minister, 
Drooned  the  precentor, 
And  fuddled  the  bell,— 

the  last  line  referring  to  the  manner  in  which  the  liquid  assets 
of  the  church  were  to  some  extent  disposed  of. 

(251) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

v.— DALKEITH  COLLEGIATE  CHURCH. 

The  town  of  Dalkeith,  which  stretches  from  the  ducal 
gates  southwards  in  a  long  High  Street,  has  as  its  most  out- 
standing antiquity  the  fine  old  parish  church  of  St.  Nicholas, 
the  choir  of  which,  containing  'the  recumbent  figures  of  the 
Douglases,    the   burial-place   of   the   successive   families   who 
lived  in  the  castle,  is  now  in  ruins.     It  is  very  interesting  to 
know  that  up  till  1377  Dalkeith  was  neither  a  parish  nor  had 
it  a  place  of  worship.     The  district  was  included  in  Lasswade, 
and  the  people  worshipped  either  in  Lasswade  Church  or  in 
Newbattle  Abbey.     It  was  Sir  James  Douglas  of  the  castle 
who,  in  1377,  built  a  chapel,  and  in  1386  a  small  hospital  for 
six  poor  men,  very  much  akin  to  those  of  Greenside,  St.  Leo- 
nard's,  Cambuslang  Spital,   Cavers  Spital,   Govan,   Glasgow, 
and  elsewhere,  where  aged  poor  persons  lived  in  peace  at  life's 
close,  and  had  the  privileges  of  daily  worship  in  the  hospital 
chapel.  This  was  the  nucleus  of  the  Dalkeith  ecclesiastical  estab- 
lishment,  which  afterwards  became  the  collegiate  church  of 
St.  Nicholas,  and  a  parish  of  Dalkeith  was  marked  out  sub- 
sequently.    The  apse  of  the  present  church  is  octagonal,  and 
is  ruined,  but  the  general  effect  is  of  a  worshipful,  stately, 
and   imposing   ecclesiastical   building,    with   excellent   pillars, 
arches,  carvings,  and  faces.     The  spire,  some  ninety-six  feet 
in  height,  is  modern,  a  great  fire  having  burned  the  old  spire 
and  much  of  the  church  a  number  of  years  ago,  when  the  old 
bell  fell  and  was  shivered  to  pieces.     Pieces  of  this  bell,  and 
of  the  ancient  bell  of  Newbattle  Abbey,  which  also  fell,  in 
1547,  in  the  fire  of  the  monastery,  are  still  in  existence.     In 
later   times,    -  -   during   the    last   half   of    the   fifteenth    and 
first  sixty  years  of  the  sixteenth  century, — Dalkeith   Church 
was  a  college,    like   Roslin,   Crichton,   Restalrig,   and   Seton, 
in    the    immediate    neighbourhood,    having    a    provost    and 
canons,     who    performed    their    ministry    in    Dalkeith    and 
round  about.     The  livings  connected  with  the  collegiate  church 
of  St.  Nicholas,  Dalkeith,  were  in  the  patronage  of  Dunfernn 
line  Abbey,  as  were  also  those  of  St.  Giles  (Edinburgh),  Inver- 
esk,  Cousland,  Lasswade,  Newton,  and  many  others.     When 
in    1650   Cromwell   visited    Scotland,    he  made   Dalkeith   his 
headquarters,  and  used  the  church  to  house  his  English  Guards 
and  horses,  at  which  the  minister,  Mr  Hew  Campbell,  was  so 
affrighted,  that  "neither  sermone-nor  session  could  be  kept." 
General   Monk  and  the   English  Commissioners  and  troopers 
arrived  at  Dalkeith  in  1652,  and  remained  there  five  years, 

(252) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

and  though  at  first  their  advent  occasioned  great  anxiety,  in 
course  of  time  the  people  became  used  to  them,  especially  as 
they  conducted  themselves  in  a  conciliatory  and  friendly 


manner. 


vi.— LASSWADE  CHURCH. 

The  Church  of  St.  Edwin,  Lasswade,  was  served  by  a 
curate  from  Restalrig  Collegiate  Church  in  pre- Reformation 
days,  when  the  village  was  called  "  Leswalt  "  or  "  Leswolt." 
Among  the  many  possessions  of  Restalrig,  was  Lasswade  in 
one  direction,  and  St.  Mary's,  Rothesay,  in  the  other.  Lass- 
wade seems,  in  course  of  time,  to  have  become  an  independent 
and  far-stretching  parish.  There  was  also  a  chapel  at  Mel- 
ville, and  traces  of  chapels  to  St.  Leonard  and  St.  Anne  are 
still  in  evidence.  A  beautiful  fragment  of  the  old  Church  of 
St.  Edwin  still  stands  in  the  churchyard  covered  with  ivy. 
The  belfry  fell  some  years  ago,  but  two  square  corner  towers 
are  still  standing.  In  the  old  days  the  church  had  no  seats, 
but  each  worshipper  brought  his  stool.  The  lower  part  of  the 
belfry  was  for  long  used  as  a  watch-house  in  Resurrectionist 
days.  Bishop  Fairlie,  the  ousted  Bishop  of  Argyll  and  the 
Isles,  was,  on  the  restoration  of  Presbytery,  at  his  own  piteous 
request,  made  minister  of  Lasswade,  his  distresses  having 
brought  him  to  abject  poverty.  He  appealed  to  the  Church 
for  relief.  The  Rev.  John  Paton,  some  time  minister  of  Lass- 
wade, held  the  office  of  King's  Almoner  for  Scotland,  an 
office  which  involved  his  preaching  every  King's  birthday  be- 
fore the  Canongate  bailies  and  the  King's  blue-gown  bedes- 
men, and  at  the  close  giving  each  bedesmen  as  many  shillings 
as  the  King  was  years  old,  and  a  blue  great-coat  to  the  men, 
a  cloak  to  the  women,  with  a  leaden  badge,  inscribed,  "  Pass 
and  repass,"  which  gave  them  the  right  to  beg.  Forty  to  fifty 
bedesfolk  enjoyed  these  annual  privileges, — not  very  different 
from  the  ceremony  in  Westminster  Abbey  on  Maundy  Thursday, 
and  when  the  King's  "  maundy  money  "  is  distributed  at  the 
altar  by  two  almoners  bearing  towels,  —  a  reminiscence  of 
Christ's  foot  -  washing,  —  to  the  aged  poor  of  Westminister. 
These  bedesmen,  like  most  Scottish  institutions  of  the  kind, 
gradually  died  out,  and  the  office  of  King's  Almoner,  held  by 
Mr  Paton,  lapsed  into  the  Scottish  Exchequer. 

(253) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

vii.— PENTLAND   CHURCH. 

Pentland  Parish  dates  from  a  very  early  period,  and  be- 
longed to  Holyrood  Abbey  (1128).  In  1296,  Stephen  de  Kyn- 
gorn,  the  parson  of  Pentland,  "  swore  fealty  to  Edward  I., 
and  had  his  forfeited  goods  restored."  Old  Roslin  village 
stood  quite  close  to  Pentland  Church,  the  parish  of  which  in- 
cluded the  Barony  of  Roslin.  The  present  village  of  Roslin 
was  built  by  Henry  St.  Clair  to  accommodate  the  masons  and 
artificers  employed  by  him  in  building  Roslin  Chapel.  Old 
Roslin  stood,  according  to  Father  Hay,  at  Bilsdone  (Bilston) 
Burn.  The  old  parish  of  Pentland  was  mainly  owned  by  the 
St.  Clairs  of  Roslin,  but  in  1633  the  barony  of  Pentland 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Gibson  family.  The  foundations 
of  the  old  church  can  still  be  traced,  and  three  monumental 
slabs,  probably  pavements  of  -the  old  church,  are  in  existence. 

The  Pentland  pastor  at  the  Reformation,  —  Sir  David 
Hutchesone, — was  a  pronounced  Reformer,  and  in  1540  he 
was  denounced  for  heresy  and  his  goods  gifted  to  Sir  Oliver 
St.  Clair  of  Roslin.  The  next  Pentland  incumbent  was  Sir 
John  St.  Clair,  the  fourth  son  of  the  latter,  who  became  Dean 
of  Restalrig,  Bishop  of  Brechin,  and  Lord  President  of  the 
Court  of  Session.  He  performed  the  marriage  ceremony  in 
Holyrood  Abbey  between  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  and  Darnley, 
in  July,  1565.  When  the  Reformation  came,  Pentland  was 
put  under  the  charge  of  a  reader  from  Lasswade  until  1590, 
when  a  duly  ordained  minister  was  appointed  in  George  Lundy, 
who,  however,  was  so  harassed  by  the  St.  Clairs  of  Roslin  and 
Dryden, — and  even  threatened  with  his  life, — that  he  finally 
sickened  and  died  in  1592,  after  which  date  Pentland  ceased 
to  be  a  parish,  and  worship  was  no  longer  held. 

viii.— LIBERTON   CHURCH. 

The  original  name  of  Liberton  was  probably  Lepertown, 
or  the  town  of  lepers,  for  the  reason  that  in  the  middle  ages 
when  leprosy  was  common  in  Scotland,  the  stricken  were  con- 
fined to  this  village  and  were  forbidden  to  approach  the  city. 
Each  leper  carried  a  pair  of  clappers  to  give  warning  of  their 
approach.  The  existing  name  in  the  parish,  "  Clapperfield," 
and  other  kindred  names,  recall  the  life  of  the  men  who  stood 
afar  off,  and  from  the  summit  of  the  hill  gazed  with  wistful 
eyes  on  the  city  which  they  could  not  enter.  It  has  not  been 

(254) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

recorded  whether  there  was  a  "  leper  window  "  in  the  old 
Liberton  Church,  as  was  usual  and  as  can  be  seen  in  Bamburgh 
Church  and  elsewhere,  through  which  the  unfortunate  stricken 
received  the  elements  of  the  sacrament  standing  outside.  The 
derivation  of  Liberton  from  "  Lepertown  "  has  been  challenged 
on  the  ground  that  there  is  no  record  of  any  plague  till  1282, 
and  the  name  "  Liberton  "  was  applied  to  the  village  on  the 
hill  139  years  before.  In  a  charter  of  David  I.  the  name 
occurs,  and  the  king  farmed  a  large  portion  of  the  land,  and 
the  men  who  worked  it  were  called  "  Libertines  "  or  freedmen. 
Whatever  the  origin  of  the  name,  Liberton  became,  at  any  rate, 
the  concentration  camp  for  the  lepers  of  the  Lothians.  The 
name  "  Spittletown  "  is  also  frequently  met  with  in  old  re- 
cords, and  is  a  reminiscence  of  the  leper  hospital.  The  bell  of 
the  old  church  of  Liberton  was  a  heavy  and  magnificent  one, 
and  could  be  heard  at  Soutrahill,  16  miles  off,  on  a  calm  day, 
just  as  the  great  bourdon  bell  of  Kirkwall  Cathedral  could, 
with  still  water  and  air,  be  heard  across  the  sea  on  the  main- 
land of  Caithness. 

Liberton,  however,  was  not  an  hospital  for  lepers,  but 
possessed  a  striking  attraction  for  all  afflicted  with  leprosy  or 
any  other  skin  diseases  in  the  famous  "  Balm  well  of  Liber- 
ton," which  is  still  in  existence,  carefully  arched  over  and 
guarded  by  iron  gates.  It  stands  in  the  grounds  of  the  small 
property  called  "  St.  Catherine's,"  on  the  highway  to  Loan- 
head.  The  water  is  clotted  with  black  oil  patches,  and  is  a 
most  interesting  study  in  physical  science,  the  presence  of  these 
masses  of  oil  being  due  to  the  shale- formation  so  famous  in 
the  district  where  the  Clippens  Oil  Company  have  their  work- 
ings. It  is  really  a  deep  bath  of  the  shale  oil  produced  natur- 
ally in  the  district,  and  is  still  used  by  some  of  the  farmers 
in  the  neighbourhood  to  cure  horse-sores  and  the  like.  Hector 
Boece  says  of  St.  Catherine's  Well : — "  About  two  miles  from 
this  town  (Edinburgh),  a  spring  on  which  drops  of  oil  float, 
gushes  out  with  such  force  that  if  you  draw  nothing  from  it 
the  flow  is  no  greater,  and  however  much  you  take  away  no  less 
remains.  It  is  said  to  have  arisen  from  some  of  the  oil  of  St. 
Catherine  which  was  being  brought  from  Mount  Sinai  to  St. 
Margaret,  having  been  spilt  at  that  spot."  Matthew  Mackail, 
a  surgeon,  in  1664  describes  it  fully,  arid  tells  how  James  VI. 
visited  it  in  1617,  and  ordered  it  to  be  built  from  the  bottom 
with  stairs  up  and  a  cover  erected  over  it.  Cromwell  destroyed 

(255) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

this  erection,  which  again  was  rebuilt  at  the  Restoration.  A 
chapel  used  to  stand  near  it  in  the  lands  of  St.  Catherine's. 
The  tradition  was  that  a  vessel  of  the  oil  of  St.  Catherine  was 
being  brought  from  Mount  Sinai  (St.  Catherine's  shrine)  to 
Queen  Margaret,  and  the  bearer  stumbled  and  spilt  some  of 
it,  hence  the  holy  oil  or  balm  well  began  its  career  of  healing. 
The  proximity  of  the  Straiten  oil-fields  is  a  more  probable 
origin,  though  as  with  another  matter,  you  can  take  your  choice 
of  explanations. 

The  convent  of  St.  Catherine's,  corrupted  now  into  "  The 
Sciennes  "  (St.  Catherine  of  Sienna)  on  the  south  side  of  Edin- 
burgh, which  stood  in  the  district  now  called  "  Sciennes," 
had  its  origin  from  one  of  the  Rosslyn  St.  Clairs,  who  pro- 
bably also  built  the  chapel  of  St.  Catherine  near  the  well,  dedi- 
cating the  former  to  the  saintly  Catherine  of  Sienna,  who  in  the 
fourteenth  century  roused  Europe  with  her  powerful  person- 
ality, life  and  work,  and  the  latter  to  the  great  Alexandrian 
saint  and  martyr  who  met  her  death  on  the  wheel,  still  called 
"  The  St.  Catherine's  wheel,"  and  whose  exiled  refuge  was 
at  the  foot  of  Mount  Sinai,  where  the  famous  monastery  of 
St.  Catherine's  commemorates  her  exile,  martyrdom,  and  legen- 
dary entombment  by  the  angels.  The  sisters  of  the  Sciennes 
house  came  out  in  procession  once  a  year  and  visited  the  Balm 
Well  and  the  chapel.  On  the  lintel  of  the  well  are  the  letters 
"  A. P."  Near  St.  Catherine's  is  a  rising  called  Grace  Mount, 
formerly  Priesthill,  probably  connected  with  the  chapel.  The 
Roslin  St.  Clairs  seem  to  have  been  enamoured  of  the  St. 
Catherine's  of  the  Church, — five  in  number  of  its  hagiology. 
— for  in  addition  to  the  Church  of  St.  Catherine  of  Sienna  in 
Edinburgh,  and  the  Chapel  of  St.  Catherine  of  Mount  Sinai 
at  Liberton,  they  built  a  third  St.  Catherine's  among  the  Pent- 
lands  as  a  thank-offering  for  victory  in  a  coursing  match  be- 
tween the  greyhounds  of  St.  Clair  and  those  of  Robert  Bruce, 
— a  chapel  dedicated  to  the  youthful  martyr  of  Mount  Sinai 
and  now  covered  over,  save  in  times  of  great  drought,  by  the 
waters  of  the  reservoir.  The  Sciennes  house  was  the  last  mon- 
astic establishment  founded  in  Scotland  before  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  was  the  special  home  of  the  unmarried  daughters  of 
the  Crown. 


(256) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

ix.— ROSLIN  CHAPEL. 

The  proper  name  of  Roslin  Chapel  is  the  "  College  of 
St.  Matthew," — originally  a  collegiate  church  like  St.  Giles', 
which  afterwards,  in  Episcopal  times,  developed  into  a  cath- 
edral; Restalrig,  originally  a  great  minster,  out  of  the  stones 
of  which  the  Nether  Bow  of  Edinburgh  was  chiefly  built,  leav- 
ing only  the  tiny  fragment  of  the  chancel  as  a  place  of  modern 
worship;  Crichton,  of  which  only  the  chancel  was  built,  and 
(not  to  give  further  particulars  of  any)  the  ancient  churches  of 
Dalkeith,  Corstorphine,  Craill,  Foulis,  Kirkheugh,  Methven, 
St.  Salvador,  St.  Leonard,  Tullibardine,  Aberdeen,  Cullen, 
Kinnethmonth,  Kilmun,  Guthrie,  Gullane,  Dunglas,  Dunbar, 
Trinity  College  (Edinburgh),  Seton,  Stirling,  Yester,  Lin- 
cluden,  Biggar,  Bothwell,  Carnwath,  Dumbarton,  Hamilton, 
Kilwinning,  Maybole,  Peebles,  Abernethy,  Tain,  Kilmaurs, 
Glasgow. 

The  idea  of  a  "  college  "  or  "  collegiate  church  "  with  its 
provost  and  canons  was  that  in  any  town  which  from  its  size, 
position,  or  history,  seemed  entitled  to  have  more  than  an 
ordinary  parish  church,  there  should  be  an  ecclesiastical  estab- 
lishment, with  a  full  body  of  clergy  attached,  which  might 
form  a  religious  centre  for  a  district.  Beautifully  situated 
amongst  the  woods  of  Hawthornden,  with  the  Pentland  Hills 
as  a  background,  and  surrounded  by  scenery  of  altogether 
unique  beauty,  Roslin  College  still,  rises,  the  perfection  of 
architecture  planted  in  the  midst  of  the  perfection  of  natural 
beauty,  —  a  pocket  cathedral  in  an  earthly  paradise,  - 
William  de  St.  Clair,  Earl  of  Orkney,  founded  it  on  Sept- 
ember 21,  1450  (St.  Matthew's  Day),  and  had  it  dedicated 
to  the  apostle  who  obeyed  Christ's  command,  —  "  Follow 
Me."  The  present  chapel  was  intended  only  for  the  choir, 
the  rest  of  the  building,  as  in  the  case  of  Crichton  College, 
never  arriving  at  completion.  But  though  only  a  fragment, 
it  is  altogether  unique  in  the  richness  of  its  decoration  and 
style. 

Its  founder,  determined  to  build  "  a  church  of  extraordin- 
ary glory  and  magnificence,  "—an  architectural  gem  in  the 
midst  of  scenic  beauties  which  could  not  be  surpassed, — drew 
on  the  resources  of  all  lands  to  carry  out  his  design.  Perhaps 
St.  Clair  remembered  the  legend  of  the  richly-decorated  Burgos 
Cathedral  in  Spain,  that  angels  built  its  roof;  at  any  rate, 
R  (257) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

there  are  resemblances  in  its  style  to  that  wonderful  cathedral 
pile,  and  the  model  of  the  thirteen  pillars  of  Roslin  Chapel 
was  the  nave  of  the  Cathedral  of  Seguenza  in  Spain,  one 
special  feature  of  the  former  being,  however,  the  horizontal 
arches  over  the  side  aisles,  which,  however,  though  quite 
straight  and  roof -like,  are  supported  by  safety- arches  concealed 
by  a  face  ornament  on  each  side.  The  riches  of  almost  every 
phase  of  Gothic  architecture  were  gathered  together  by  the 
princely  St.  Clair,  except  that  which  was  at  the  time  in  vogue 
in  England,  and  with  the  minute  decorations  of  the  Tudor 
Gothic  is  combined  the  solidity  of  the  Norman  style. 

Roslin  to  a  great  extent  is  a  repetition  of  Glasgow  Cath- 
edral on  a  smaller  scale,  but  with  infinitely  greater  elabora- 
tion and  ornamentation.  Each  is  built  on  a  sloping  hill,  hence 
the  opportunity  for  a  crypt,  as  was  also  intended  at  Crichton, — 
the  naves  being  cryptless.  The  styles,  however,  of  all  countries, 
—Moorish  arabesques,  enrichments  which  could  only  have  been 
copied  from  Burgos  and  Ovie"do  and  other  Spanish  minsters; 
the  vault  of  tunnel  shape  has  its  transverse  ribs  incrusted  with 
stars,  pendants,  and  clusters  of  every  conceivable  description, 
after  the  French  form.  At  Plougasnou,  in  Brittany,  there  are 
the  same  Gothic  "  barrel  roofs  "  and  identical  pendants  hang- 
ing down  from  the  crown  of  the  vault,  and  curiously-moulded 
shafts  with  flat  carving  in  the  caps, — ideas  which  could  only 
have  been  derived  from  the  French  architects, — what  is  called 
the  style  of  "  Breton  renaissance";  while  Italian  architecture 
is  also  represented,  the  master-mason  himself  having  spent 
many  months  in  Rome  to  conceive  the  idea  of  a  fresh  pillar. 

The  reason  of  the  international  character  of  the  Roslin 
architecture  is  not  far  to  seek.  Lord  St.  Clair  was  master - 
mason  of  all  Scotland,  and  desiring  to  mark  his  sense  of  the 
honour  done  to  him  and  the  trust  reposed  in  him  in  committing 
to  his  keeping  the  highest  secrets  of  the  mystic  brotherhood,  he 
founded  the  church  not  only  to  eclipse  the  construction  of  other 
noble  founders,  but  also  to  embody  and  petrify  the  ideas,  mys- 
teries, and  symbolism  of  that  Freemasonry  of  which  he  was 
the  arch-custodier, — Jachin  and  Boaz  glorified,  with  the  lily- 
work  and  much  else  besides.  'And  so,  to  initiated  eyes,  every 
flower  and  leaf,  every  arch  and  pillar  and  fluting  has  a  Masonic 
meaning.  The  whole  theory  of  human  life,  the  mysteries  of  earth- 
ly existence  and  of  the  Divine  government,  are  all  carved  out, 

(258) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

— idea  after  idea,  symbol  after  symbol, — so  that  Roslin  Chapel 
is  literally  a  sermon  in  stone  on  the  mysteries  of  Freemasonry. 
Freemasonry  is  understood  all  over  the  world,  and  its  signs  are 
international,  and  so  it  was  suitable  that  the  architects  of  this 
Cathedral  of  Freemasonry  should  come  from  the  north  of 
Spain,  that  the  roofs  should  be  copied  from  the  old  churches 
in  the  south  of  France,  that  some  of  the  pillars  should  be  liter- 
ally the  other  halves  of  shafts  still  standing  in  some  of  the 
Italian  churches,  that  even  Saracenic  and  Moorish  ideas  should 
mingle  with  those  of  the  Normans  and  Goths. 

Every  one  knows  the  story  of  the  "  Prentice  Pillar,"  how, 
in  the  absence  of  the  architect  in  Rome  to  get  new  ideas  for 
the  great  work,  a  young  apprentice  tried  his  hand  at  original 
architecture,  and  carved  out  this  beautiful  column,  with  its 
wreath  of  leaves  springing  out  of  the  base ;  and  how  the  master 
in  his  wrath  killed  the  youth  who  had  been  so  presumptuous. 
Even  that  pillar,  however,  has  a  symbolical  meaning,  for  at 
the  foot  of  it  a  worm  is  represented  eating  away  the  vitals  of 
the  clinging  plant,  with  the  result  that  only  leaves  are  found 
upon  it,— possibly  a  parable  on  the  social  and  religious  cor- 
ruptions of  the  day, — "  nothing  but  leaves."  Similar  traditions 
cling  round  similar  "  Prentice  Pillars  "  in  Rouen  and  in  other 
ancient  minsters.  One  lovely  carving  represents  satan  drag- 
ging a  girl  from  her  mother's  care,  with  an  angel  holding  a 
cross  beckoning  in  front, — a  stone  sermon  on  good  and  evil 
influence.  The  virtues,  the  seven  deadly  sins,  the  star  of 
Bethlehem,  the  instruments  of  the  Passion  are  all  carefully 
pourtrayed. 

Twelve  barons  of  St.  Clair  lie  in  the  vaults  below  the 
chapel  clad  in  armour,  and  when  the  crypt  was  last  opened 
the  breastplates  were  found  lying  as  they  had  been  left,  and 
a  little  dust  beneath  each.  Who  has  not  heard  of  the  lurid 
redness  which  is  said  to  light  up  the  chapel  on  the  eve  of  a  St. 
Glair's  death,  to  which  Sir  Walter  Scott  refers  in  the  "  Lay  of 
the  Last  Minstrel  "  : — 

O'er  Roslin  all  that  dreary  night 

A  wondrous  blaze  was  seen  to  gleam ; 
'Twas  broader  than  the  watch-fire's  light, 

And  redder  than  the  bright  moon-beam. 
It  glared  on  Roslin's  castled  rock, 

It  ruddied  all  the  copse-wood  glen; 
'Twas  seen  from  Dryden's  groves  of  oak, 

And  seen  from  cavern'd  Hawthornden. 

(259) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

x.— RESTALRIG  COLLEGIATE  CHURCH. 

Very  few  of  the  thousands  who,  on  the  thin  iron  line  of 
civilization,  rush  past  the  little  village  and  church  of  Restalrig, 
under  the  shadows  of  Arthur's  Seat,  are  aware  of  the  unique 
interest  which  clusters  round  that  ancient  and  picturesque  shrine 
Its  story  is  to  a  great  extent  buried  in  the  forgotten  past,  whose 
long  dim  aisles  house  the  forgotten  dead.  But,  just  as  the 
stone  which  we  carelessly  kick  out  of  our  path,  when  picked 
up  by  the  naturalist  and  examined,  brings  forth  a  new  discov- 
ery for  all  time,  so  in  these  stones  there  are  sermons,  and  you 
have  but  to  rub  them  like  the  magician  of  old,  to  have  the 
spirit  of  the  past  come  out  and  meet  you  :  and  glancing  from 
to-day's  watch-towers  out  on  the  dim,  misty,  looming  past, 
tombed  figures  take  shape,  and  old  dusts  begin  to  speak. 

Tradition  says  that  along  with  St.  Rule,  who  was  wrecked 
in  St.  Andrew's  Bay,  there  came  several  other  pioneers  of  the 
Gospel,  among  whom  was  a  certain  woman,  Triduana.  She 
is  to-day  little  more  than  a  name,  but  she  seems  to  have  been 
one  of  those  who,  swallow-like,  heralded  the  coming  of  the 
Gospel-spring  in  Scotland.  The  starlight  that  caught  your 
eye  last  night  was  light  that  left  the  stars  a  thousand  years 
ago;  your  eye  caught  a  thousand  arrivals  from  journeys  of 
thousands  of  years ;  and  the  Christian  light  which  floods  Scot- 
land to-day  started  thirteen  hundred  years  ago,  with  those  holy 
men  and  women,  who  themselves,  like  the  stars,  are  unseen  and 
unknown,  but  the  waves  and  influences  of  whose  lives  are  still 
felt  and  realised. 

One  tradition  has  it  that  Triduana  was  a  Greek  lady  of 
royal  blood,  to  whom,  after  a  sight  of  the  Cross,  this  world 
became  very  small ;  the  sentiment  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots, 
was  hers  : — 

"  Foes  to  my  greatness,  let  your  envy  rest, 
In  me  no  taste  for  grandeur  now  is  found  !" 

After  a  life  of  missionary  labour  in  Scotland,  she  died, 
and  was  buried,  and  Restalrig  [or  Restalric,  or  Lestalric] 
Church  covers  her  remains. 

It  was  once  a  large  and  stately  edifice.  The  little  bit 
remaining  is  only  a  portion  of  the  chancel,  all  the  transepts  and 
nave  having  been  swept  away.  It  was  founded  by  James  III., 
and  was  a  rich  and  powerful  corporation,  a  collegiate  church, 
consisting  of  a  dean,  eight  prebendaries,  three  chaplains,  and 

(260) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

two  singing  boys.  It  held  the  Church  of  Lasswade,  the  rector 
of  that  town  having  a  stall  there,  also  St.  Mary's  Rothesay, 
besides  valuable  property  in  Bute,  Leith,  &c.  The  octagonal 
chapter-house,  with  a  fine  central  pillar  and  groining,  was  built 
by  Sir  Robert  Logan,  who  died  in  1539.  Originally  dedicated 
to  the  Holy  Trinity  and  to  SS.  Mary  and  Margaret,  its  chief 
interest  lay  in  the  fact  that  it  contained  the  tomb  and  shrine  of 
St.  Triduana,  St.  Rule's  companion.  That  shrine  was  one  of 
the  most  renowned  places  of  pilgrimage  in  the  middle  ages : 
it  was  supposed  to  work  miracles,  especially  in  diseases  of 
the  eye,  one  of  the  earliest  recorded  instances  of  such  cure? 
being  that  of  John,  Bishop  of  Caithness,  who  in  1200  jour- 
neyed from  Scrabster,  blinded  and  with  his  tongue  cut  out  by 
Earl  Harold  of  Orkney  (as  the  old  Saga  relates);  and  it  is 
said  he  was  cured  by  his  pilgrimage  hither.  Many  other  such 
pilgrimages  are  on  record,  and  the  place  got  not  only  great 
fame,  but  also  considerable  wealth  in  consequence.  St.  Tri- 
duana's  chapel  in  that  noble  church  was  served  by  a  prebend- 
ary who  ministered  at  her  altar,  and  also  acted  as  organist  in 
the  church. 

Restalrig  Church,  for  this  reason,  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  first  Reformers  in  1560,  and  it  is  almost  the  only  case 
in  which  Knox  and  his  colleagues  actually  demolished  a  sacred 
edifice.  It  is  one  of  the  earliest  entries  in  the  transactions  of 
the  first  reformed  assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, — "That 
Restalrig  Church  be  utterly  demolished  as  a  monument  of 
idolatry."  In  1559-60,  Lord  Gray,  Commander  of  the  Eng- 
lish forces,  during  the  siege  of  Leith,  threw  up  trenches  round 
the  church,  and  lodged  himself  with  his  horsemen  within  its 
walls.  In  December,  1560,  it  was  demolished  by  the  Pro- 
testant throng  and  utterly  razed,  save  only  for  the  little  piece 
of  the  east  end,  which  was  left  in  ruins.  The  great  masses 
of  stone  were  carted  off  to  build  the  Nether  Bow  of  Edinburgh, 
which  was  almost  entirely  drawn  from  this  rich  quarry ;  and 
even  so  late  as  1571,  one  Alexander  Clark  found  stones  enough 
left  at  the  old  site  to  build  his  house.  For  many  years  the 
small  remnant  of  the  church,  with  its  three  pillared  bays  and 
fine  east  window,  remained  an  utter  ruin,  and  to  a  great  extent 
roofless;  but  within  recent  years  it  has  been  worthily  restored, 
and  is  now  appropriately  used  as  a  chapel  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  Several  notable  people  are  buried  in  the  pretty 

(261) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

churchyard  which  spreads  around  it,  and  was  for  long  a  fav- 
ourite place  of  sepulture  for  Episcopalians.  The  ruin  of  St. 
Anthony's  Chapel,  on  a  spur  of  Arthur's  Seat,  looks  down 
upon  it, — perched  up  there  among  the  flocks  of  the  Holyrood 
monks,  because  St.  Anthony  -was  the  guardian  of  the  brute 
creation,  and  is  said  to  have  made  the  lambs  and  the  birds, 
and  even  the  fishes  his  companions.  The  stately  towers  of 
Hale-rude-house  (Holyrood)  rose  up  at  the  other  end  of  the 
meadow,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  will  very  soon  be  restored,  with' 
the  Auld  Brig  o'  Ayr,  the  Scots  Greys,  the  Ben  Nevis  Observa- 
tory, and  other  Scottish  interests  which  have  too  long  been 
neglected. 

One  cannot  look  at  the  little  chapel  without  wishing  that 
those  who  professed  to  cure  blindness  there,  had  not  been,  in 
later  days  at  any  rate,  such  blind  leaders  of  the  blind,  and 
that  their  spiritual  cataract  had  not  become  so  dense,  that  the 
offending  eye  had  so  ruthlessly  to  be  plucked  out. 

But  all  such  spiritual  developments  are  in  the  hands  of 
Him  who  of  old  touched  the  eyes  of  blind  Bartimeus  on  the 
wayside;  and  though  such  spiritual  blindness  cannot,  alas,  be 
numbered  as  one  of  the  extinct  diseases,  but  has  only  taken 
other  forms,  yet  the  Church  of  God  can  never  sigh, — "  Oh 
for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand,"  for  Christ's  touch  has  still 
its  ancient  power.  At  best  in  life  we  see  "  men  as  trees  walk- 
ing," as  they  did  long  ago :  but  now  as  then,  "  The  Lord  God 
walks  among  the  trees  of  the  garden."  And  a  broad  charity 
like  that  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  whose  mission  was  to  open  the 
blind  eyes,  and  who  looks  with  larger,  other  eyes  than  ours, 
to  make  allowance  for  us  all,  bids  us  gaze  back  through  the 
dim  mist  of  the  past  on  that  earlier  faith  with  a  forgiving  eye, 
and  forward  to  a  still  more  perfect  day  when  we  shall  no 
longer  see  through  a  glass  darkly,  but  face  to  face, — 
"  Waiting  for  the  end 

Of  all  misunderstandings  and  soul-hunger, 
When  lack  of  love  shall  trouble  us  no  longer ; 
When  a  white  shroud  shall  cover  up  our  faces 
And  better  people  fill  our  vacant  places  !" 

xi.— NEWTON  CHURCH. 

Newton,  or  Neaton,  Church  was  granted  to  the  monks  of 
Dunfermline  (like  St.  Giles')  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  the 
ruins  of  the  old  church  stand  beside  the  Buccleuch  woodlands, 

(262) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

within  sight  of  the  railway,  a  tall  square  tower  rising  above  the 
holy  place.  There  was  another  church  and  parish,  that  of 
Woolmet  or  Wymet,  which  was  probably  the  chapel  of  the  fine 
old  house  of  Woolmet,  famous  as  the  retreat  of  Francis  Stew- 
art, the  second  Earl  of  Bothwell,  in  James  VI. 's  reign,  after 
the  battle  of  Craigmillar.  The  house  is  still  a  stately  baronial 
mansion,  and  has  interesting  historical  memories.  David  I. 
granted  the  church  of  Woolmet,  which  is  still  standing  in  the 
village  of  Edmonstone,  to  the  monks  of  Dunfermline,  like  the 
church  of  Newton.  At  the  Reformation  the  two  chaplaincies 
and  parishes  were  united,  and  a  new  church  built  in  the  centre 
of  the  parish,  the  church  lands  being  given  to  Lord  Thirle- 
stane  by  James  VI.,  from  whose  descendants  they  passed  to 
the  Wauchopes,  while  the  Newton  portions  eventually  fell  in 
to  Buccleuch.  The  church  of  Newton  to-day  has  interesting 
memorials  on  its  walls  of  those  whose  life  it  was  to  "  win  " 
the  coal,  and  is  an  ideal  country  church  and  churchyard, 
echoed  in  some  of  Mr  Martin  Hardie's  paintings.  The  old 
estate  of  Sheriffhall  has  interesting  memories,  while  the 
"  Kaim  "  (hence  "  Campend  "  or  "  Kaim-end  ") —  a  round 
earth-heap  surmounted  by  trees,  is  supposed  to  cover  the 
remains  of  those  who  fell  in  some  of  the  early  battles  of  prehis- 
toric Scottish  history. 

Monkton  House,  between  Newton  and  Inveresk,  was  the 
favourite  residence  of  General  Monk,  and  near  it  is  the  "  Rout- 
ing Well,"  so  called  from  a  noise  which  it  is  supposed  to  make 
predicting  a  coming  storm.  This  well,  dug  many  fathoms 
deep  through  a  rock  in  order  to  get  below  the  coal-strata,  com- 
municates with  the  coal-seams  below,  which  occasions  a  rumbl- 
ing noise,  "  which  does  not  precede  but  accompanies  a  high 
wind."  The  gardens  of  Monkton  were  among  the  earliest  in 
Britain,  and  in  the  books  of  Dalkeith  Palace  it  is  entered  that 
fruit  and  vegetables  came  thence  in  more  excellent  quantity 
and  quality  two  and  a  half  centuries  ago  than  from  any  other 
quarter.  The  house  was  originally  built  by  the  monks  of  New- 
battle,  to  whom  the  property  belonged,  and  the  west  side  of 
the  courtyard  is  the  work  of  the  monks.  It  stands  two  storeys 
high,  and  has  the  usual  hall  and  other  rooms  on  the  ground 
floor,  and  bedrooms  above,  while  the  turret  staircase  and  the 
fine  mullioned  dormers  of  the  upper  floor  are  unique.  A 
branch  of  the  Hays  of  Yester  succeeded  to  the  property,  which 

(263) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

came  into  the  hands  of  the  Falconars,  and  finally  into  those 
of  the  Hopes  of  Pinkie.  ["  Castellated  and  Domestic  Archi- 
tecture of  Scotland,"  iv.] 

Monkton  Hall,  a  little  nearer  Musselburgh,  is  also  an 
interesting  old  residence  full  of  antiquarian  memories.  New- 
ton House  is  a  large,  commodious  and  massive  mansion-house 
dating  far  back,  quite  of  the  same  style  as  Monkton  House, 
Woolmet,  &c.,  close  by,  and  in  all  probability  the  laird  of 
Newton  or  Neaton  was  the  originator,  patron,  and  protector 
of  Neaton  Kirk  close  by.  To-day  only  the  church  tower 
stands,  surrounded  by  trees,  and  with  about  half-a-dozen  table- 
tombstones  around  it.  The  entrance  to  the  tower  is  a  round 
arch,  and  the  marks  of  presses,  doors,  fireplaces,  and  roofs 
are  quite  traceable.  The  sweet  old  tower,  standing  out  on  the 
ploughed  field, — with  its  castellated  top  and  many  memories, 
is  romantic  to  a  degree,  and  in  early  spring,  when  the  fresh 
olive-green  is  on  the  old  churchyard  trees,  is  beautiful  and 
suggestive  beyond  words. 


xii.— CARRINGTON   CHURCH. 

The  picturesque  ruined  church  of  Carrington  stands  in 
an  isolated  field  half-a-mile  from  the  present  village  and 
church,  now  called  Carrington,  but  once  called  Primrose, — 
an  indication  of  the  old  connection  between  the  house  of  Rose- 
bery  (Primrose)  and  this  district,  which  up  to  the  Moorfoots 
is  the  property  of  the  Lord  of  Dalmeny.  The  church  of  Car- 
rington or  Kerrington  has  a  very  curious  history.  In  a  docu- 
ment of  the  chartulary  of  Scone  Abbey,  dated  February,  1356, 
it  is  stated  that  the  Abbot  of  Scone  is  to  get  the  church  of 
Blair,  with  its  pertinents,  in  exchange  for  the  parish  of  Car- 
rington. Blair  had  belonged  to  William,  Bishop  of  St.  And- 
rews, Carrington  to  the  Abbey  of  Scone.  It  was  a  matter  of 
arrangement  between  the  two,  and  was  apparently  amicably 
settled.  But  in  Scone  Chartulary  there  is  another  document, 
a  bull  of  Pope  Gregory  the  XI.,  dated  1373.  In  1356  the 
Bishop  of  St.  Andrews  had  apparently  given  up  all  claim  to 
Blair  Church  in  exchange  for  that  of  Carrington.  The  Abbot 
of  Scone  seems,  however,  to  have  had  his  doubts  about  the 
binding  character  of  the  transaction.  He  appears  to  have 
dreaded  that  he  might  lose  Carrington  and  fail  to  get  Blair. 

(264) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

And  so  he  sought  the  good  offices  of  Robert  II.,  who  had  been 
crowned  at  Scone,  to  secure  a  bull  from  Pope  Gregory  con- 
firming the  exchange.  This  bull  is  an  interesting  document. 
It  narrates  that  Carrington  "  abounded  in  revenues,"  but  was 
so  distant  from  Scone,  and  the  way  to  it  was  beset  with  so 
many  difficulties  that  it  would  be  more  suitable  to  transfer  it 
to  the  Archdeacon  of  Lothian.  The  revenues  of  Blair  were 
very  poor,  but  that  church  was  close  by  Scone.  The  vicar 
at  the  time  of  the  exchange  was  paid  the  stipend  of  10  merks 
or  ;£6,  145.  3d.  Carrington  income  could  easily  have  been  far 
more,  and  yet  not  so  very  much.  To-day  the  rental  of  Car- 
rington is  ^4000,  of  Blairgowrie,  ^27,000. 

After  the  Reformation  the  charge  of  Carrington  was  held 
by  John  Knox  (1619-61), — grandson  of  the  second  minister 
of  Cockpen,  and,  therefore,  great-grand-nephew  of  the  Re- 
former, and  he  ordained  Robert  Leighton  to  Newbattle.  He 
was  succeeded  by  his  son,  John  (1653-9),  tne  great-great-grand- 
nephew  of  the  Reformer. 

xiii.— BORTHWICK  CHURCH. 

The  valley  of  the  Tyne  stretches  from  the  hillfoots  around 
Borthwick,  on  through  Crichton,  and  out  through  Haddington- 
shire.  Borthwick  Castle,  recently  restored,  is  one  of  the  very 
finest  peel-towers  in  Scotland,  standing  on  a  tongue  of  rocky 
land,  and  the  roof  of  the  grand  hall  is  so  lofty  that  it  was 
almost  a  proverb  that  a  knight  on  horseback  could  swing  his 
spear  without  touching  wall  ot  wood.  That  roof  is  still  in  ad- 
mirable preservation,  and  in  one  of  the  panels  there  is  the  in- 
scription,— "  Ye  Temple  of  Honor."  The  fireplace  is  carved 
and  gilded.  Queen  Mary's  room  is  still  pointed  out,  and  the 
nailmarks  of  the  ancient  tapestries  which  hung  on  its  walls  are 
traceable.  The  two  great  towers  are  very  striking.  It  is  said 
that  something  like  half-a-century  ago  a  foolhardy  student 
jumped  from  one  to  the  other, — a  tempting  of  Providence  al- 
most as  great  as  that  of  the  Italian  mason,  who,  when  Durham 
Cathedral  was  finished,  swung  a  rope  from  tower  to  tower  and 
walked  across  it,  performing  a  somersault  in  the  middle.  The 
roofs  of  the  towers  are  saddleback  and  covered  with  stone- 
slates,  as  at  Corstorphine,  Crichton,  St.  Margaret's  Chapel  in 
Edinburgh  Castle,  &c.  There  is  an  excellent  spring  well  in  a 

(265) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

vault  on  the  left  side.  The  original  home  of  the  illustrious  Borth- 
wicks  was  Catcune  Castle,  famous  as  the  residence  of  the  great: 
Sir  William  Borthwick,  who  had  to  do  with  the  strong  national 
movements  of  his  age.  It  is  said  that  the  founder  of  the  noble 
house  was  a  Livonian  knight  called  Burtick,  who  came  with 
Edward  Atheling  and  his  sister  Margaret  (afterwards  Malcolm 
Canmore's  wife)  to  Scotland  in  1067,  and  settled  here.  Then 
Sir  James  Borthwick,  who  made  the  fame  of  the  house,  re- 
ceived permission  on  2nd  June,  1430,  to  erect  a  castle  at  Loch- 
warret  (Locherworth  or  Loquhariot)  to  take  the  place  of  the 
old  Catcune  Castle.  From  Currie  glen,  close  by,  the  stones 
were  brought,  and  while  it  was  building  Sir  James  was  created 
Lord  Borthwick,  in  recognition  of  his  great  services  to  the 
nation.  He  died  in  1458,  and  was  buried  in  the  Church  of 
Borthwick  (St.  Mungo's),  where  his  recumbent  figure,  along 
with  that  of  his  wife,  is  still  to  be  seen, — one  of  the  few  per- 
fect recumbent  tombs  in  Scotland.  He  lies  in  full  armour, 
and  the  sleeping  pair  form  a  very  beautiful  piece  of  sculpture. 
This  ancient  portion  of  Borthwick  Church, — now  at  the  rear  of 
the  beautiful  parish  church, — is  a  fine  relic  of  the  age,  and  the 
piscina  and  other  features  are  still  in  good  preservation.  The 
carved  flowers  on  the  outside  walls  below  the  stone  roof  are 
copied,  as  at  Roslin,  from  the  flora  of  the  valley,  which,  doubt- 
less, the  sculptor  held  in  his  hand  as  he  carved.  The  faces, 
which  alternate  with  the  flowers,  represent  jo'y,  grief,  mockery, 
surprise,  cunning,  singing  (the  trumpet-like  carving  represent- 
ing the  music  issuing  forth  as  in  the  S.  transept  of  St.  Giles', 
Edinburgh,  beside  the  organ),  resignation,  merriment,  death. 
The  faces  are  almost  identical  with  those  on  the  outside  of 
Crichton  choir,  and  are  probably  the  work  of  the  same  hand. 
The  massive  roof  of  paving-stones  is  identical  with  that  of 
Corstorphine.  The  church  was  in  all  probability  built  about 
the  same  time  as  the  castle,  and  was  in  all  likelihood  originally 
simply  the  chapel  of  the  house  of  Borthwick.  It  was  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Mungo,  whose  influence  was  widely  felt  in  this 
part  of  Mid-Lothian.  Glasgow  Cathedral  is  St.  Mungo's  or 
St.  Kentigern's  Church,  and  still  retains  his  well  and  tomb  in 
the  beautiful  crypt.  It  was  at  Glasgow  ("  the  dark  forest  ") 
that  St.  Mungo  and  St.  Columba  met,  with  their  missionary 
bands.  St.  Mungo  has  given  his  name  to  a  Dumfriesshire 
parish.  The  old  friary  of  the  Observant  Friars,  also,  at 

(266) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

Lanark,  founded  in  1314  by  King  Robert,  bears  his  name. 
Alloway's  haunted  kirk  is  St.  Mungo's,  and  Burns  has  sung 
of  the  thorn  hard  by,  "  where  Mungo's  mither  hanged  hersel'." 
Besides  giving  his  name  to  the  churches  of  Penicuik,  Borth- 
wick,  and  Crichton,  the  name  and  influence  of  this  early  mis- 
sionary can  still  be  traced  all  over  Lanarkshire  and  eastern 
Mid-Lothian,  and  it  is  singular  that  "  Mungo  "  should  still 
be  a  favourite  Christian  name  in  Mid-Lothian,  and  also  that  it 
should  have  been  the  name  of  the  great  modern  traveller, 
Mungo  Park,  who  did  so  much  to  open  up  Africa  to  light  and 
civilization.  St.  Mungo's  mother  was  St.  Thenaw,  whose  cor- 
rupted name  appears  still  in  Glasgow  in  "  St.  Enoch's  "  Sta- 
tion, just  as  "  St.  Rollox  "  in  the  same  city  is  properly  "  St. 
Roche,"  from  a  chapel  on  the  hill  there,  and  "  Manuel  "  on 
the  North  British  Railway  is  properly  "  Immanuel,"  from  the 
ancient  church  dedicated  to  "  Christ  Immanuel,"  which 
has  almost  entirely  disappeared.  The  Penicuik  Lodge  of  Free- 
masons is  called  "  St.  Mungo's."  His  influence  in  the  upper 
ward  of  Lanarkshire  and  the  Esk  valleys  was  almost  as  great 
as  in  Clydesdale,  all  of  which  he  made  his  own  by  missionary 
effort.  His  proper  name  was  Kentigern,  and  he  was  born  at 
Culross,  and  flourished  in  the  last  half  of  the  sixth  century. 
"  Mungo  "  or  "Beloved"  was  a  name  of  endearment  given 
him  by  his  devoted  disciples,  and  so  deep  was  the  affection  of 
Scotland  for  him  that  the  new  name  very  nearly  ousted  the  old. 
It  is  interesting  to  remember  that  St.  Mungo  was  grandson  to 
the  famous  King  Loth,  whose  name  survives  in  the  title  of  the 
lands  over  which  he  ruled, — "  Lothian."  King  Loth's  regal 
residence  was  at  the  foot  of  Traprain  Law. 

From  the  death  of  the  first  Lord  Borthwick  in  1458,  son 
succeeded  father,  until  the  ninth  lord,  who  died  without  issue, 
and  the  title  expired.  Descendants  of  the  house  of  Borthwick, 
however,  still  live  at  Crookston  (and  in  the  Castle),  while  one 
is  the  respected  chief  of  the  Mid-Lothian  constabulary. 

The  sixth  Lord  Borthwick  was  the  staunch  friend  of  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots,  who  lived  with  Bothwell  within  the  walls  of 
the  grim  fortalice  in  the  valley.  It  was  her  last  home  of 
liberty,  for  when  she  fled  from  Borthwick  Castle  she  very 
soon  passed  on  to  her  captivity.  The  memories  of  Queen  Mary 
cluster  very  thickly  around  the  grand  old  keep,  which  keeps 
silent  guard  over  the  lovely  valley,  through  which  the  express 

(267) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

trains  rush  in  their  mad  progress  to  the  south.  James,  the 
ninth  lord,  was  a  warm-hearted  partisan  of  the  Stuarts,  and 
in  the  interests  of  Charles  I.  he  for  a  time  defied  Oliver 
Cromwell.  Cromwell  bombarded  the  castle,  and  the  marks 
of  his  shot  and  shell  can  still  be  traced  on  the  walls,  as  well 
as  in  the  earth-mounds  in  the  vicinity,  raised  for  his  cannon. 
The  record  of  the  house  of  Borthwick  is  a  noble  one,  as  no 
atrocious  or  brutal  crime  such  as  characterised  most  houses  of 
medisevalism,  can  be  imputed  to  Borthwick,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, there  is  a  fine  tradition  of  patriotic  work  well  done. 
.The  nephew  of  the  ninth  lord, — Lord  Dundas  of  Harvieston, 
succeeded  to  the  castle  and  estate,  but  the  title  lapsed.  In 
1692  he  sold  the  property  to  Sir  James  Dalrymple,  progenitor 
of  the  house  of  Stair.  In  1760,  Mitchelson  of  Middleton 
bought  it,  and  in  1812  it  was  bought  by  Mr  John  Borthwick 
of  Crookston.  Lengthy  litigations  have  taken  place  over  the 
revival  of  the  title,  claimed  both  by  the  Crookston  and  the 
Nenthorn  branches  of  the  Borthwick  family,  and  in  1870  the 
House  of  Lords  gave  the  title  to  the  Nenthorn  branch, — 
descendants  of  the  third  lord,  and  the  present  peer  is  the 
twelfth. 

The  beautiful  new  church  of  Borthwick  was  a  gift  to  the 
parish  from  the  Kidd  family  (1850),  and  the  old  portion  of 
the  church  is  the  hall  and  vestry.  The  great  historian,  Prin- 
cipal Robertson,  was  born  in  the  old  manse  in  1721.  His 
father,  the  Rev.  William  Robertson,  was  minister  of  Borth- 
wick, and  afterwards  of  Lady  Yester's  and  Old  Greyfriars', 
Edinburgh.  He  was  the  author  of  the  25th,  42nd,  and  43rd 
paraphrases, — three  of  the  finest  in  the  collection. 

Beautiful  Currie  Glen,  with  Currie  House,  is  close  by, 
while  interesting  Roman  remains  in  the  way  of  roads  and 
camps  are  on  the  hillsides,  the  great  Roman  road,  "  Watling 
Street,"  passing  through  the  parish.  A  Roman  camp  is  on 
the  summit  of  one  of  the  Heriot  Hills  close  by. 

A  very  striking  feature  is  to  be  observed  in  the  glen  from 
Borthwick  to  Crichton  on  summer  evenings,  in  the  presence 
of  multitudes  of  glow-worms,  which  seem  to  have  a  special 
affection  for  this  locality.  The  "  lampyris  noctiluca  "  or 
glow-worm,  is  a  short  little  worm,  thick  and  ugly  by  daylight, 
but  at  night  its  light-emissions  are  wonderful  and  mystic.  It 
can  extinguish  its  light  at  will  when  frightened,  and  on  misty 

(268) 


THE  SURROUNDING  SANCTUARIES. 

warm  summer  evenings  during  June,  July,  and  August,  thou- 
sands of  these  marvellous  night-lights  can  be  seen  in  rapid 
motion  in  the  Crichton  Glen.  The  glow-worms  close  their 
"  feast  of  lights  "  about  11-12.  If  one  of  them  is  caught  and 
put  in  a  glass  case  it  will  keep  shining  on  for  weeks  till  the 
phosphorescent  deposit  or  luminary  matter  is  exhausted,  when 
it  dies. 

xiv.— HERIOT  CHURCH. 

The  remains  of  a  small  Roman  camp  are  on  the  hill  above 
the  Heriot  valley.  The  old  chapel  of  Heriot  or  Herieth  was 
under  Newbattle  Abbey,  and  was  a  vicarage  worth  .£19,  75 
lod  scots.  It  served  the  hill  district  of  the  Moorfoots  to  the 
east,  as  the  chapel  and  house  of  Moorfoot,  the  ruins  of 
which  are  still  standing  at  the  foot  of  the  Powbate  Glen,  did 
the  western  portion  of  the  rich  green  pastoral  mountainsides 
and  moors,  which  are  still  as  beautiful  and  refreshing  to 
soul  and  body  as  ever. 

Walcott,  in  his  "  Scoti-monasticon,"  says  that  Gawin  or 
Gavin  Douglas  (1516),  the  renowned  Scottish  poet  and  bishop, 
was  at  first  rector  of  Heriot.  Other  authorities  say  he  began 
his  clerical  life  as  rector  of  Hawick,  which  has  more  evidence 
in  its  favour  than  the  other  statement.  He  was  afterwards 
Provost  of  St.  Giles',  Edinburgh,  and  Bishop  of  Dunkeld. 
He  played  an  important  part  both  in  Church  and  State,  and 
added  great  lustre  to  St.  Giles  and  Dunkeld  alike.  He  was 
a  poet  and  a  scholar,  and  translated  into  Scottish,  Virgil's 
"  JEneid,"  and  Ovid's  "Remedy  of  Love,"  besides  writing 
the  "  Palace  of  Honour," — an  apologue  for  the  conduct  of 
the  king,  in  which,  in  a  vision,  the  vanity  of  earthly  greatness 
is  beautifully  depicted.  He  was  the  friend  of  Polydore 
Virgil,  and  presented  him  with  a  commentary  of  the  history 
of  Scotland,  in  which  the  Scottish  -race  is  traced  back  to  Athens. 
He  was  Provost  of  St.  Giles  when  the  fatal  news  of  Flodden 
reached  Edinburgh,  and  the  women  crowded  into  the  old 
minster  to  pray  for  "  the  Flowers  of  the  Forest."  Owing 
to  the  enmity  of  the  Earl  of  Angus,  an  unjust  sentence  of 
proscription  was  issued  against  him  ,by  the  king :  the  Pope 
cited  him  to  Rome  :  on  his  way  he  sickened  in  London  of  the 
plague  and  died  there  in  1522,  and  was  buried  in  the  Savoy 

(269) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

Chapel.  It  is  interesting  to  trace  the  great  career  of  this  dis- 
tinguished Scotsman  back  to  the  green  hills  and  sweet  valley 
of  Heriot,  where  his  poetic  gifts  may  have  received  their 
earliest  impulses,  as  Robertson  received  his,  centuries  later, 
at  Borthwick,  on  the  other  side  of  the  same  swelling  Moor- 
foots. 


(270) 


XXI. 


SOME  SMALLER  PROPERTIES  IN  NEWBATTLE. 

THERE   are  many   places   of   deep  historic   interest  in 
Newbattle  parish  regarding  which  much  could  be  said. 
The  fine  old  mansion-house  of  Southside  —  once  a 
dower-house  of  the  Lothian  family,  and,  within  liv- 
ing memory,  ornamented  on  the  top  with  fine  battle- 
ments,  has  interesting  traditions.     One  laird,    Patrick   Ellis, 
gave  in  1646  a  communion  cup  to  the  church,  which,  with  the 
other  three,  given  in  that  year*  by  Alexander  Caithness,  Robert 
Porteous,  and  Andrew  Bryson,  are  still  in  use,  and  were  gifted 
to  the  church  in  the  sixth  year  of  Leighton's  ministry  at  New- 
battle, — the  cups  for  the  sacrament  having,   previous  to  that 
donation,  been  borrowed  from  Dalkeith. 

D'Arcy  Farm  and  its  picturesque  lands  on  the  hillside 
above  the  ancient  village  of  Easthouses  (referred  to  frequently 
along  with  Westhouses  in  the  charters  of  Newbattle  Abbey), 
got  their  name  from  the  Lady  Caroline  D'Arcy,  who,  in  1735, 
married  William  Henry,  the  fourth  Marquess,  just  as  the 
"  Talbot  Park  "  received  its  name  from  the  matrimonial  alli- 
ance of  the  House  of  Lothian  with  the  Talbots,  the  "  Camp- 
bell Park  "  with  the  Argylls,  and  the  "  Fortescue  Park  "  with 
the  Fortescues.  The  village  of  Westhouses  used  to  stretch 
extensively  round  the  hillfoot  beneath  the  Roman  Camp,  where 
"  Camp  Meg  "  lived.  It  formerly  contained  a  school,  and 
old  coins  of  the  Stuart  period  have  been  found  among  the 
stones.  The  Cock-houlet  Wood  beside  it  is  reminiscent  of  the 
old  farm  and  village  which  stood  there  half  a  century  ago. 
A  somewhat  famous  well, — St.  Helen's  Well, — used  to  be 
popular  as  a  place  of  resort  for  the  healing  of  diseases,  just 
like  the  St.  Catherine  Balm  Well  at  Liberton.  Maisterton 
Tower  is  another  old  castle  in  the  parish,  forming  a  not- 
able landmark  in  the  landscape,  seen  from  afar  by  sailors 
in  the  Forth.  It  is  a  thoroughly  mediaeval  keep,  and  was  the 
residence  of  the  Baron  of  Maisterton,  which  of  old  was  also  a 

(271) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

separate  parish,  the  chapel  being  at  Bryans  or  Brien  as  it  is 
called  in  the  Newbattle  chartulary.  The  fine  old  trees  round 
Bryans  farm  are  probably  indications  of  where  the  Churchyard 
stood,  and  a  portion  of  the  byre  was  many  years  ago  largely 
paved  with  the  gravestones.  One  tree  is  still  called  "  The 
Lady  Tree,"  and  possibly  the  "  Lady's  Road  "  may  have  got 
its  name  from  the  Virgin,  who  was  the  special  patroness 
of  Newbattle.  The  farm  called  Mansfield  may  have  been 
the  glebe  of  Bryans  chapel,  standing  as  it  does  half-way 
between  the  Maisterton  Tower  and  Bryans.  Fordel,  in  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  parish,  so-called  from  the  ford  over  the 
river  Tyne,  which  passes  through  the  Oxenfoord  and  Preston- 
holm  valley,  giving  its  name  to  Ford,  famous  as  the  place 
where  iron  ploughs  were  first  made  in  Scotland, — is  to-day 
famous  as  the  finest  strawberry-producing  district  in  Scot- 
land. 

Lothian  Bridge,  with  its  striking  railway  arches,  over 
which  of  old  the  horse-trains  were  dragged  to  Newington  from 
Newbattle,  but  over  which  now-a-days  the  Flying  Scotsman 
every  night  rushes  with  its  ripple  of  lighted  windows  and 
sounding  din,  till  the  Borthwick  hills  surround  it,  and  all  is 
still,  was,  until  recent  years,  the  seat  of  the  great  paper  in- 
dustry, begun  and  continued  for  several  generations  by  the 
Craig  family.  The  village,  indeed,  rose  around  that  in- 
dustry, which  owed  so  much  to  the  genius  and  personality  of 
Mr  Robert  Craig,  a  man  as  gifted  as  he  was  attractive  and 
loveable.  This  world-famed  industry  was  in  1890  transferred 
to  the  neighbourhood  of  Airdrie,  where,  at  Moffat  and  Calder- 
cruix,  great  works  provide  employment  for  hundreds  of  people, 
the  company  being  known  as  Messrs  Robert  Craig  &  Sons, 
Limited.  Newton  Grange  House  occupies  the  site  of  the  old 
monastic  farm  mill,  and  Mr  John  Romans,  the  present  vener- 
able laird,  can  lay  claim  for  his  family  to  three  centuries  of 
settlement  in  the  historic  place. 

At  what  is  now  known  as  Barondale  House,  on  the  Esk 
shore  at  Newbattle,  the  scene  is  laid  of  the  "  Laird  of  Cock- 
pen."  Tradition  declares  that  Mark  Carse  was  the  veritable  laird 
of  Cockpen,  who  wandered  down  the  riverside  from  Old  Cock- 
pen  House,  a  mile  higher  up  the  South  Esk  from  Newbattle, 
down  to  Barondale  House,  which  stands  still,  though  renovated, 
by  the  waterside,  near  the  Newbattle  bridge.  "  Doun  by  the 

(272) 


SOME  SMALLER  PROPERTIES  IN  NEW  BATTLE. 

dyke-side  a  lady  did  dwell."  The  "dyke"  was  the  old  Monk- 
land  wall  still  standing  in  Newbattle  village,  and  "  Clavers- 
ha-Lea  "  (Barondale  House)  was  by  the  water  amid  the  beau- 
tiful scenery  of  the  romantic  Newbattle  valley.  Mrs  Jean 
was  brewing  the  "  elder-flower  wine," — one  of  the  dear  old 
drinks  of  long  ago, — and  the  Newbattle  valley  is  full  of  these 
old-fashioned  trees  and  shrubs.  The  laird  walked  down  the 
Esk  side  by  a  path  still  traceable  through  the  river  brushwood, 
and,  arriving  at  his  destination,  asked  the  lady's  hand.  His 
actions  seem  to  have  been  too  sudden,  for  flat-footed  Jean 
refused  him  with  a  lofty  disdain  not  uncommon  on  such  occa- 
sions, we  are  informed.  She  thought  better  of  it,  however, 
and,  having  evidently  arrived  at  the  stage  of  "  where  is  he?" 
took  him,  and  thus  the  Cockpen  and  Barondale  estates  were 
united  under  Laird  Mark  Carse,  who  thus  had  an  estate  in 
Newbattle.  What  is  termed  by  scholars  "  the  poultry  verse  "• 
in  the  old  song,  is  a  modern  addition  and  is  seldom  sung,  save 
by  those  who  have  not  confined  themselves  to  the  mild  New- 
battle  stimulant  termed  by  the  song,  "  elder-flower  wine."  In 
1722  this  small  Newbattle  estate  of  Mark  Carse  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Lord  Lothian. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  charming  estate 
and  mansion  of  Woodburn,  with  its  recent  memories  of 
Christopher  North.  The  distinguished  general,  Lord  Ralph 
Kerr,  C.B.,  brother  of  the  late  Marquess,  is  now  the  occu- 
pant of  the  mansion.  Quite  near  it,  and  in  a  haugh  by  the 
river,  stands  the  large  thatched  house  of  Newmilns,  for  many 
years  a  prosperous  corn-mill.  Robert  the  Bruce  is  said  to 
have  owned  a  field  in  the  parish,  and  his  son  David  II.  buried 
his  mistress,  Catherine  Mortimer,  in  the  Abbey. 

The  old  school  and  schoolhouse  of  Newbattle,  founded 
mainly  through  the  influence  of  the  Rev.  James  Aird,  about 
1620,  are  still  standing  near  the  now  demolished  village  of 
Crawlees.  The  late  Mr  David  Dunlop,  a  fine  type  of  the  old 
Scottish  parochial  schoolmaster,  for  a  generation  adorned  his 
position  and  sent  many  excellent  scholars  out  into  the  world. 
His  diary,  still  extant,  is  an  interesting  and  intellectual  record 
of  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  and  reveals  a  disposition  and 
nature  at  once  enlightened  and  progressive.  The  adjacent 
village  of  Crawlees  has  altogether  disappeared,  save  for  an  old 
well  and  a  hole  leading  down  to  the  coal,  by  which  women 
5  (273) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

led  up  the  coals  to  the  surface.  Blackcot,  close  by,  was  once 
a  flourishing  farm,  and  under  the  surveillance  of  the  Burtons, 
— one  of  whom  was  drowned  in  the  "  Captain,"  was  an  im- 
portant element  in  the  parochial  life.  Lawfield  Farm  and 
Tower,  Blinkbonny  Farm,  Billhead,  and  Lingerwood  are  also 
to  be  named  as  important  factors  in  the  old  Newbattle  days, 
as  they  are  still  at  the  present  time. 


(274) 


XXII. 

CAMP  MEG.* 

(a)  CRICHTON  AND  HAGBRAE. 

THERE    are    few    districts    in    Scotland    so    rich    in 
historic    memories    as    the    Tyne    valley    in    Eastern 
Mid-Lothian.     The  Scottish  Reformation  had  practi- 
cally its  beginning  at  the  foot  of  it,  when  at  Ormiston 
Knox,   as  tutor   to  the   Cockburn   family,   embraced 
and   declared   the   doctrines   of   the   reformed   faith.     It   was 
Thomas  Gwilliam,  the  provincial  of  the  Black  Friars  in  Scot- 
land, born  at  Athelstaneford,  who  "  was  the  first  man  from 
whom  Mr  Knoxe  receaved  anie  taste  of  truth."     Moffat,  the 
African    missionary,    was    bom    in    Ormiston.        Possibly    at 
Burghlee,   at  the  foot  of  Soutra  Hill,   where  he  was  born, 
James  Logan   wrote  the  second  and  other  paraphrases.     At 
any  rate,   the  wild  Lammermuir,   stretching   across  from  the 
old  Soutra  Monastery  of  the  "  Holy  Trinity," — the  revenues 

*  The  following  preface  introduced  the  story  of  "Camp  Meg"  in 
its  earlier  editions: — "The  narrative  of  Camp  Meg's  life  has  been 
gathered  together,  throughout  the  years,  from  many  different  sources, 
persons,  and  places,  and  every  endeavour  has  been  made  to  ensure  accur- 
acy and  fulness.  Francis  Rigby's  little  book,  published  many  years  ago, 
and  now  very  scarce,  is  the  basis  of  the  story,  which  was  corroborated, 
told  over  again  and  enlarged  upon  with  endless  variety  to  the 
writer  by  the  late  Mr  Abram  Douglas,  of  Mayfield,  whose  father  and 
his  family  were  Meg's  kindest  friends.  Many  others,  including  Mr 
John  Romans,  J.P.,  and  C.C.  for  Newbattle,  of  Newton  Grange  House, 
Miss  Margaret  Noble,  Easthouses,  Miss  Jane  Clyde,  Newbattle,  and 
many  more,  both  living  and  deceased,  have  kindly  contributed  to  the 
storehouse  of  her  biography;  while  Mr  George  Douglas,  J.P.,  Dal- 
keith,  has  not  only  corroborated  what  is  here  written  and  greatly 
added  to  it,  but  himself  knew  the  heroine  of  the  Camp  intimately; 
and  to  him,  therefore,  with  deepest  respect,  I  venture  to  dedicate  this 
little  volume,  gratefully  thanking  him  and  the  other  contributors  to 
the  work,  and  wishing  my  six  octogenarian  friends,  who  are  still 
living  and  remember  Camp  Meg,  and  who  have  generously  helped  me, 
continued  health,  peace,  and  blessing." 

Alas  !  since  this  was  written  Mr  George  Douglas  has  passed  away, 
also  Mrs  M'Culloch  and  Mr  Robb,  who  all  knew  the  heroine  well. 
The  Misses  Donaldson  at  Newtonloan  House,  who  are  still  alive,  re- 
member seeing  Camp  Meg  often  in  their  father's  farm  kitchen  at 
Gowkshill,  where  she  was  a  frequent  visitor. 

(275) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

of  which  were  transferred  by  Queen  Mary  of  Gueldres  to 
endow  Trinity  College,  Edinburgh,  —  to  Channelkirk  and 
Carfraemill,  with  its  dreary,  bleak  road  marked  with  snow 
posts,  is  suggestive  enough  of  "  each  perplexing  path  of  life" 
and  "  the  weary  pilgrimage."  But  we  must  say  no  more,  or 
the  everlasting  "  Bruce-Logan  controversy,"  almost  as  im- 
mortal and  unending  as  that  of  the  "  Casket  Letters,"  will 
be  on  us.  Prestonhall,  with  its  rich  wooded  valley,  is  for 
ever  associated  with  that  famous  Duchess  of  Gordon  who  died 
there  in  October,  1760,  and  whose  husband  proclaimed  Prince 
Charlie  King  at  Castle  Gordon,  fought  for  him  at  Sheriffmuir, 
and  was  imprisoned  for  his  conduct  in  Edinburgh  Castle. 
The  Duchess  had  bought  this  fine  mansion  and  estate  at  a 
judicial  sale  in  1738  for  ^8877,  and  at  her  death  left  it  to 
her  fourth  son,  Lord  Adam.  Oxenfoord  Castle,  close  by, 
and  the  House  of  Stair  form  an  essential  part  of  the  history 
of  Scotland.  The  upper  end  of  the  Tyne  valley  touches 
Borthwick,  with  its  ancient  collegiate  Church  of  St.  Mungo, 
covering  one  of  the  few  perfect  recumbent-figure  tombs  in 
Scotland, — a  parish  of  which  the  finest  tradition  probably  is 
that  the  great  historian  Robertson  was  born  within  the  manse, 
where  his  father  wrote  three  of  the  "  paraphrases."  Logan 
at  one  end  of  the  Tyne  valley  and  Robertson  at  the  other 
are  thus  accountable  for  a  considerable  share  of  what  the 
Anglican  humorist  calls  "the  Caledonian  poets." 

The  most  interesting  memories  and  the  most  varied  of 
the  district,  however,  surround  Crichton  Castle  and  its  col- 
legiate Church  of  St.  Mary  and  St.  Mungo.*  Mainly  through 
the  generous  dealings  of  the  present  laird  of  Prestonhall, 
the  old  church  has  latelv  been  restored  from  a  condition  of 


*  ST.  MUNGO. — Glasgow  Cathedral  is  St.  Mungo's  or  St.  Kentigern's 
Church,  and  still  retains  his  well  and  tomb  in  the  beautiful  crypt. 
It  was  at  Glasgow  ("the  dark  forest")  that  St.  Mungo  and  St.  Colomba 
met,  with  their  missionary  bands.  St.  Mungo  has  given  his  name  to 
a  Dumfriesshire  parish.  The  old  friary  of  the  Observant  Friars, 
also,  at  Lanark,  founded  in  1314  by  King  Robert,  bears  his  name. 
Alloway's  haunted  kirk  is  St.  Mungo's,  and  Burns  has  sung  of  the 
thorn  hard  by  "  where  Mungo's  mither  hanged  hersel'."  Besides, 
giving  his  name  to  the  churches  of  Penicuik,  Borthwick,  and  Crichton, 
the  name  and  influence  of  this  early  missionary  can  still  be  traced 
all  over  Lanarkshire  and  Eastern  Mid-Lothian,  and  it  is  singular  that 
"  Mungo"  should  still  be  a  favourite  Christian  name  in  Mid-Lothian, 
and  also  that  it  should  have  been  the  name  of  the  great  modern  tra- 
veller, Mungo  Park,  who  did  so  much  to  open  up  Africa  to  light  and 

(276) 


CAMP  MEG. 

filth,  ruin,  decay,  and  desolation,  in  which  it  had  remained 
for  generations,  into  a  stately,  inspiring  house  of  prayer.  The 
church  consisted  only  of  a  beautiful  chancel,  transepts,  and 
saddle-back  tower,  for  the  nave  was  never  finished.  It  was 
founded  on  pth  December,  1449,  by  the  great  Lord  Chancellor, 
Sir  William  Crichton,  whose  stately  and  historic  castle,  in 
ruins,  now  overshadows  the  church.  The  clergy  consisted  of 
a  provost  and  eight  prebendaries  or  chaplains,  two  singing 
boys,  and  a  sacristan.  There  were  four  special  stalls  in  the 
gift  of  the  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews, — those  of  Vogrie, 
Arniston,  Middleton,  and  Locherworth, — small  villages  round 
about  the  church,  which  still  exist,  the  second  of  them  having, 
through  the  great  development  of  the  mining  industry,  com- 
menced by  the  monks  of  Newbattle  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
who,  Father  Hay  says,  gave  the  poor  "  black  stones  "  (coals) 
instead  of  bread,  become  a  large  town,  better  known  as 
Gorebridge. 

The  situation  of  this  church  on  the  face  of  a  lonely  veldt- 
like  hill,  far  from  all  human  habitations,  and  originally  simply 
the  private  chapel  of  the  great  Crichton,  is  in  keeping 
with  the  architecture,  which,  though  stately  and  impressive, 
is  extremely  plain  Gothic,  with  little  or  no  ornamentation  save 
a  wreath  of  stone  flower-work  on  the  outside  chancel  walls  and 
a  few  carved  heads  above  the  windows,  representing  monastic 
faces  in  all  conditions  of  sadness  and  gladness,  humour  and 
misery.  The  four  inside  pillars  are  garlanded  at  the  top. 
The  tower  has  a  low  bell-gable.  It  grew  in  course  of  time 
into  a  wealthy  and  powerful  ecclesiastical  institution,  and 
unfortunately,  before  the  Reformation,  became,  like  Melrose 
and  other  abbeys,  from  various  causes,  lax  and  careless. 

civilization.  St.  Mungo's  mother  was  St.  Thenaw,  whose  corrupted 
name  appears  still  in  Glasgow  in  "  St.  Enoch's  Station,"  just  as  "  St. 
Rollox"  in  the  same  city  is  properly  "St.  Roche,"  from  a  chapel 
on  the  hill  there,  and  "Manuel"  on  the  North  British  Railway  is 
properly  "  Immanuel,"  from  the  ancient  church  dedicated  to  "  Christ 
Immanuel,"  which  has  almost  entirely  disappeared.  The 
Penicuik  Lodge  of  Freemasons  is  called  "  St.  Mungo's."  His  influ- 
ence in  the  upper  ward  of  Lanarkshire  and  the  Esk  valleys  was  almost 
as  great  as  in  Clydesdale,  all  of  which  he  made  his  own  by  missionary 
effort.  His  proper  name  was  Kentigern,  and  he  was  born  at  Culross, 
and  flourished  in  the  last  half  of  the  sixth  century.  "Mungo"  or 
"  Beloved  "  was  a  name  of  endearment  given  him  by  his  devoted  dis- 
ciples, and  so  deep  was  the  affection  of  Scotland  for  him  that  the  new 
name  very  nearly  ousted. the  old. 

(27?) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Father  Hay  describes  "  the  voluptuous  life  of  the  canons," 
and  the  monk  of  Cambuskenneth  describes  their  "  fidgetting 
in  the  stalls,  the  lawsuits  in  church,  the  payment  of  Easter 
dues  and  tithes  within  the  sanctuary,  the  eating,  drinking,  and 
sleeping  permitted  when  workmen  gave  up  work  at  an  hour 
too  late  for  their  return  home  or  people  came  from  far,  and 
the  binding  of  sick  pilgrims  to  the  pillars  in  the  hope  of  being 
healed."  The  revenues  of  the  establishment  amounted  to 
^133,  6s  8d,  and  on  the  dissolution  of  the  religious  orders  at 
the  Reformation  the  forfeitures  were  granted  to  Patrick,  Lord 
Hales,  who  by  James  VI.  was  created  Lord  Creyghton.  The 
last  provost,  Sir  Gideon  Murray,  had  the  church  lands  of 
Crichton  created  into  a  temporal  estate,  just  as  in  the  case 
of  Newbattle,  where  the  last  abbot  was  made  commendator 
of  the  entire  property. 

The  great  Sir  William  Crichton,  who,  "  out  of  thank- 
fulness and  gratitude  to  Almighty  God  for  all  the  manifold 
deliverances  he  had  vouchsafed  to  him,"  founded  this  inter- 
esting college, — one  of  some  forty  scattered  over  Scotland, — 
dedicated,  like  Borthwick,  Penicuik,  and  other  Mid-Lothian 
sanctuaries,  to  St.  Mungo  the  Beloved, — was  a  man  of  ancient 
family  and  immense  power.  The  barony  of  Crichton  goes 
back  to  the  reign  of  Malcolm  III.,  and  in  the  foundation- 
charter  of  Holy  rood  by  David  I.,  Thurstanes  de  Creichton 
is  a  witness.  In  1240  William  de  Crichton  is  mentioned  as 
"  lord  of  Crichton,"  while  his  son  was  one  of  the  barons 
who  in  1296  swore  allegiance  to  Edward  I.  The  great 
Chancellor  was  the  guardian  of  James  I.,  and  had  many 
strange  experiences  in  connection  with  the  boy-king,  being 
besieged  in  Edinburgh  Castle,  but  at  last,  in  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  the  royal  favour,  he  died  in  1454.  Many  great 
Crichtons  adorn  the  page  of  Scottish  history,  notably  the 
"  Admirable  Crichton "  of  the  sixteenth  century,  who  was 
one  of  the  moving  spirits  of  Scotland  during  the  reigns  of 
Queen  Mary  and  James  VI.  Bishop  Crichton  of  Dunkeld 
was  the  Prelate  who  in  1539,  on  the  examination  of  Dean 
Thomas  Forrest,  Vicar  of  Dollar,  for  heresy, — burned  for  his 
Reformation  principles, — declared  that  he  was  glad  he  "  never 
knew  what  either  Old  or  New  Testament  meant,  for  as  for 
him  he  would  know  nothing  but  his  breviary  and  pontifical." 
Another  Crichton,  of  Brunstane  in  Mid-Lothian,  was  banished 

(278) 


CAMP  MEG. 

by  the  Regent  Arran  at  the  Reformation  for  his  reformed 
views.  Crichton  Castle,  the  seat  of  this  ancient  family,  is 
described  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  in  "  Marmion  "  as  the  place 
where  that  hero  lodged,  but  which,  he  declares,  is  now  the 
resting-place  of  miry  cattle. 

"  That  castle  rises  on  the  steep, 
Of  the  green  vale  of  Tyne ; 
And  far  beneath,  where  slow  they  creep 
From  pool  to  eddy,  dark  and  deep, 
Where  alders  moist  and  willows  weep, 
You  hear  her  streams  repine." 

All  these  alders  and  willows  are  now  away, — used  to  make 
gunpowder-charcoal  during  the  Napoleonic  wars  and  scares, 
and  now  the  valley  is  a  veldt.  But  the  castle  still  stands  in 
its  picturesque  and  lonely  watch,  with  its  graceful  portico 
and  beautiful  grand  hall ; 

"The  towers  in  different  ages  rose; 
Their  various  architecture  shows 
The  builders'  various  hands;" 

and  the  old  church  is  there,  with  its  mingled  memories  and  its 
restored  beauty  and  risen  hopes.  Queen  Mary  stayed  at 
Crichton  Castle  with  Darnley,  as  she  stayed  at  Borthwick 
Castle  with  Bothweli. 

Ancient  and  venerable  as  these  buildings  are,  they  are 
juveniles  compared  with  the  pre-historic  Picts'  House  in  the 
neighbouring  farm  of  Crichton  House  discovered  some  fifteen 
years  ago,  with  its  underground  dwelling  and  human  remains. 
It  is  almost  the  only  underground  dwelling  of  early  man 
discovered  in  Mid-Lothian,  and  is  undoubtedly  the  oldest 
habitation  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  makes  even  the  old  castle 
and  college  young  and  recent. 

Exactly  opposite  Crichton  Church,  on  the  other  side  of 
the  veldt-like  valley,  stands  the  ancient  farm  of  Hagbrae, 
which  got  its  name  from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  favourite 
place  for  the  burning  of  Mid-Lothian  witches  or  "  hags  "  for 
two  hundred  years  after  the  Reformation.  To-day  it  is  a 
large  red-tiled  establishment,  in  full  view  of  Crichton  College 
Church,  so  that  the  expiring  hag  might  through  the  flames  of 
her  pyre  catch  sight  of  the  holy  place,  whose  God  she  had 
profaned. 

Wonderful  indeed  was  the  witch-craze  which  seized  hold 
both  of  England  and  Scotland  after  the  Reformation.  Perse- 
cution, torture,  and  burning  were  transferred  from  one  sphere 

(279) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

to  another,  but  the  spirit  was  much  the  same.  The  statutes 
of  Henry  VIII.,  Elizabeth,  and  James  I.,  all  require  death 
as  a  penalty,  and  the  last  statute  against  witches  was  only 
repealed  in  1736,  amid  almost  universal  lamentation  on  the 
part  of  the  religious  world.  Old  Zachary  Gray,  the  editor 
of  "  Hudibras,"  says  : — 

"  Some  only  for  not  being  drowned, 
And  some  for  sitting  above  ground 
Whole  nights  and  days  upon  their  breeches 
And  feeling  pain — were  hanged  for  witches." 

He  adds  that  during  the  Long  Parliament  over  three  thousand 
wretched  women  were  burned  in  different  parts  of  England 
for  supposed  illegal  dealings  with  Satan. 

The  case  of  the  "  Lancashire  witches "  is  the  most 
terrible  on  record,  for  the  three  women  burned  were  not 
"  hags,"  but  beautiful  girls,  burned  at  the  stake  as  witches 
mainly  through  the  villainy  of  the  imposter  Robinson,  whose 
wretched  life  has  been  dramatised  by  Heywood  and  Shadwell. 
Usher  and  Hales  are  the  constantly- quoted  authorities  in  our 
old  Bibles  on  questions  of  sacred  and  secular  chronology.  The 
latter,  Sir  Matthew  Hales,  the  finest  lawyer  of  his  day,  and 
a  man  of  clear  reason  and  sound  common-sense  and  religious 
feeling,  condemned  two  women  to  death  in  1664 — Amy  Duny 
and  Rose  Cullender — on  evidence  of  witchcraft  which  is  an 
insult  to  human  intelligence;  and  yet  Sir  Thomas  Browne, 
the  author  of  the  "  Religio  Medici,"  and  one  of  the  finest 
ornaments  of  English  literature,  corroborates  Hales'  view,  and 
vouches  entirely  for  the  truth  and  validity  of  all  the  charges. 

Under  Lord-Chief-Justice  Holt  in  1694  a  turn  came  in 
affairs;  in  that  year  Mother  Munnings  was  charged  with  being 
a  witch.  She  was  a  wizened  old  hag,  and  was  supposed  to 
have  satan's  marks  on  her  body.  But  Holt  gave  the  jury  such 
a  common-sense  and  firm  charge  that  for  almost  the  first  time 
on  record  the  witch  escaped  death,  and  from  1694  until  1701 
no  witch  was  burned  in  England,  chiefly  through  his  stern 
opposition  to  the  superstition. 

In  1711  an  Englishwoman  named  Wenham  was  charged 
with  witchcraft,  and  Chief- Justice  Powell  asked  the  jury — 
"  Do  you  find  her  guilty  upon  the  indictment  of  conversing 
with  the  devil  in  the  shape  of  a  cat?"  to  which  the  foreman 
replied, — "  We  find  her  guilty  of  that."  She  however  escaped 
with  her  life.  But  in  1716  the  old  rage  against  witches 

(280) 


CAMP  MEG. 

revived,  and  at  Huntingdon  a  Mrs  Hicks  and  her  little 
daughter  of  nine  were  burned  to  death  for  having  sold  their 
souls  to  the  devil  and  for  raising  a  violent  hurricane  "  through 
pulling  off  their  stockings  and  making  a  lather  of  soap  !" 
This  was  the  last  case  of  witch-burning  in  England,  for  in 
1736  the  law,  which  owed  its  origin  to  the  Puritans,  who 
took  as  their  motto  the  Old  Testament  texts, — "  Thou  shalt 
not  suffer  a  witch  to  live,"  and — "  There  shall  not  be  among 
you  a  witch,"  was  repealed,  and  the  punishment  for  witch- 
craft was  changed  to  the  pillory  or  imprisonment. 

Writing  on  the  twentieth  statute  of  Henry  VIII.  regard- 
ing witchcraft,  the  great  legal  authority  Barrington  says  that 
altogether  30,000  witches  were  burned  in  England  since  the 
Reformation.  The  Act  repealing  witch-burning  is  IX.,  George 
I.,  cap.  V. 

Though  foisted  upon  Scotland  by  Cromwell,  Puritanism 
took  firmer  root  there  than  in  England,  and  not  only  expelled 
the  old  Reformed  confessions  and  practices  and  forms  of  John 
Knox,  but  introduced  a  fiercer  persecution  of  witches  than  had 
ever  been  known  before, — a  persecution  compared  with  which 
all  previous  persecutions  either  Roman  or  Protestant  were  mild- 
ness itself. 

In  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  under  strong 
Puritan  influence,  the  Presbyteries  of  Scotland  burned  the 
witches  by  the  thousand,  and  Hagbrae  was  a  favourite  altar 
for  the  dreadful  immolation.  Hardly  a  session-record  in  Scot- 
land but  has  its  dreadful  entries  regarding  witches  and  witch- 
burning.  In  the  Kirkcaldy  books  under  date  1633  there  is 
this  entry  : — 

For  10  loads  of  coals  to  burn  yem  -  -     ^3    6    8 

For  a  tar  barrell      -  -        o  14    o 

For  harden  to  be  jumps  to  them      -  -        o     3  10 

For  making  of  ym    -  -008 

The  Session  records  of  Spott  in  Haddingtonshire,  close  by, 
contain  these  entries:  —  "  1698.  The  session,  after  a  long 
examination  of  witnesses,  refer  the  case  of  Marion  Lillie,  for 
imprecations  and  supposed  witchcraft,  to  the  Presbytery,  who 
refer  her  for  trial  to  the  civil  magistrate.  The  said  Marion 
generally  called  the  Rigwoody  witch."  "  Oct.  1705.  Many 
witches  burned  on  the  top  of  the  Spott  Loan."  North  Ber- 
wick has  its  humorous  traditions  of  how  the  Fife  witches 
crossed  the  Forth  on  their  broomsticks,  and  gathered  in  St. 

(281) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

Baldred's  Chapel  by  the  harbour  to  hear  satan  expound  his 
views  to  them.  The  less  said  of  the  concluding  act  of  homage 
to  the  eloquent  pulpiteer  the  better. 

From  the  quaint  old  diary  of  Robert  Birrell  the  following 
extracts  are  culled: — "25  June,  1591.  Euphemia  M'Kalzen 
was  burnt  for  witchcraft."  "21  July,  1603.  James  Reid 
burnt  for  confessing,  consulting,  and  using  with  satan  and 
witches,  and  who  was  notably  known  to  be  ane  counsellor  with 
witches."  "  24  July,  1605.  Henry  Lowrie  burnt  on  the 
Castle  Hill  for  witchcraft  done  and  committed  by  him  in  Kyle, 
in  the  parish." 

The  minister  at  Gladsmuir  in  1705,  Mr  John  Bell,  wrote 
a  "  Discourse  on  Witchcraft,"  one  chapter  of  which  is  entitled 
— "  Symptoms  of  a  witch,  particularly  the  witch's  mark,  mala 
fama,  inability  to  shed  tears,  &c.,  all  of  them  providential  dis- 
coveries of  so  dark  a  crime,  and  which  like  avenues  lead  us  to 
the  secret  of  it." 

It  is  notorious  that  John  Knox  believed  in  witchcraft,  as 
well  as  in  visions  and  special  spiritualistic  interpositions.  In 
his  "  History  of  the  Reformation,"  and  other  works,  there  are 
frequent  references  to  the  hags ;  and  in  thorough  Old  Testa- 
ment spirit,  he  held  with  most  of  the  Reformers  that  only  one 
punishment  was  possible  for  them.  The  witch  of  Endor, 
Manasseh's  trafficking  with  the  black  arts,  Jezebel's  "  many 
witchcrafts,"  and  even  St.  Paul's  summary  of  the  works  of 
the  flesh,  including  "  idolatry,  witchcraft,"  stood  luridly  in 
front  of  the  Reformer's  eyes,  and  made  them  energetic  in  deal- 
ing with  the  evil. 

At  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  wife  of  a, 
distinguished  Edinburgh  lawyer  was  strangled  and  burned  for 
witchcraft,  which  she  herself  owned  to  and  confessed.  In  the 
eighteenth  century  Captain  Weir  and  his  sister, — aristocrats 
residing  in  the  best  part  of  Edinburgh,  in  the  fashionable  High 
Street, — were  both  publicly  burned  at  the  cross  for  the  same 
offence.  One  of  the  witch's  marks  was  if  the  supposed  "hag" 
had  a  little  brown  mark  on  the  back  or  shoulders,  and  if  a  pin 
were  driven  in  and  no  pain  were  felt,  that  was  proof  positive 
that  the  person  was  a  veritable  witch. 

The  witches'  death-list  is  a  long  one.  Witch-burning  be- 
came the  new  superstition  of  the  Reformed  Churches,  and  a 
much  more  disastrous  one  than  any  of  the  old  death-deserving 

(282) 


CAMP  MEG. 

offences.  England  sacrificed  30,000  hags ;  Geneva  burned  500 
over  Calvin's  grave;  at  Como,  in  Switzerland,  1000  were  de- 
stroyed in  one  year;  while  in  Scotland  during  the  sitting  of 
one  Parliament  alone  600  unfortunate  women  were  destroyed 
like  night-moths  in  a  paraffin  lamp  ! 

The  earliest  Scottish  Act  against  witches  was  in  1563,  by 
the  first  Reformed  Parliament.  Probably  no  witch  had  ever 
been  burned  in  Scotland  before.  That  fate  was  reserved  for 
other  offenders.  After  the  Reformation  thousands  were  de- 
stroyed, thu&  testifying  to  the  mistaken  zeal  of  the  Reformed 
Church  to  live  up  to  the  strict  letter  of  the  newly-discovered 
elder  scripture,  and  not  to  "  suffer  a  witch  to  live." 

The  procedure  in  connection  with  a  witch  was  methodical 
and  highly  organised.  After  a  Session  and  Presbytery  had 
searched  out  a  case  and  became  convinced  that  "  the  devil 
was  in  it,"  the  witch  passed  out  of  ecclesiastical  hands  and  was 
passed  over  "  to  the  civil  magistrate  to  be  dealt  with."  She 
was  then  conveyed  to  Edinburgh  and  tried  in  the  High  Court 
of  Justiciary.  Seated  in  their  scarlet  robes  and  crosses,  on 
chairs  covered  with  scarlet  cloth,  each  wearing  a  black  cap  on 
his  head,  the  fifteen  Lords  of  Session  listen  to  the  case.  The 
bench  is  raised  on  a  dai's,  and  the  business  begins  at  eight  in 
the  morning,  the  Lord  President  seated  in  the  middle  and  seven- 
judges  on  each  side.  Ten  advocates  in  gowns  of  Paris  stand 
around.  A  tall  wax  candle  painted  over  with  religious  em- 
blems burns  on  the  President's  right  hand  and  a  gold  cross 
hangs  on  his  breast.  In  the  horse-shoe  form  the  judges  sit 
and  listen. 

And  now  comes  the  awful  part  of  the  scene;  a  rack 
covered  with  black  cloth  stands  in  front  of  the  Lord  Presi- 
dent,— the  rack  being  used  in  Court  up  to  William  III.'s 
reign,  and  still  in  use  in  various  foreign  countries.  No  wit- 
nesses are  allowed  for  the  defence, — only  the  evidence  of  the 
Session  of  her  parish,  and  of  the  Presbytery  who  handed  her 
over  to  be  dealt  with.  The  hag  is  stripped  in  court  to  the 
waist,  and  if  the  devil's  marks  are  seen,  that  is  proof  that 
satan  had  nipped  her  person.  Next,  a  needle, — so  contrived 
that  when  pressed  against  anything  it  glides  up  into  its  own 
handle  with  the  very  slightest  pressure,  without  pricking  at 
all, — is  applied  to  one  of  the  marks.  The  witch  naturally 
feels  no  pain,  though  the  witch-pricker  has  the  instrument 

(283) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOT'TLE. 

against  her  body,  for  the  needle  is  not  piercing  her  but  is  up 
in  the  handle,  and  therefore  she  does  not  utter  the  slightest 
cry  or  murmur.  This  is  proof  positive  of  her  guilt,  for  a  witch 
is  insensible  to  pain.  The  needle  was  supposed  to  go  into 
her  body,  but  really  the  point;  slightly  blunted,  never  pierced 
her  at  all. 

Her  guilt  is  now  amply  proved,  for  the  witch- pricker, 
clad  in  scarlet  doublet,  leathern  apron,  and  with  bare  arms, 
has  wounded  her,  but  she  has  not  felt  the  pain.  The  judge 
puts  on  the  black  cap  again,  blows  out  the  candle,  and  gives 
doom  after  trial  by  racking.  Stretched  on  the  rack,  the  poor 
creature  gives  way  and  faints.  She  is  then  taken  out,  dressed 
in  sackcloth  with  white  cord,  a  white  cross  and  skull  sewn  on 
the  back  and  breast,  and  carried  off  either  to  the  City  Cross 
of  Edinburgh,  or  preferably  to  Hagbrae,  or  some  other  fav- 
ourite witch-pyre,  to  be  burned  in  sight  of  all  those  whom  she 
is  supposed  to  have  wronged,  and  cursed,  and  blighted.  Awful 
memories  cling  round  Hagbrae,  facing  the  sweet  College  of 
St.  Mary  and  St.  Mungo  the  Beloved  !  Many  a  time  doubt- 
less the  old  bell,  "  founded  in  1619,"  and  re-cast  in  1702  by 
Sir  James  Justice  of  East  Crichton,  rang  out  across  the  valley, 
as  the  flames  roared  up  at  Hagbrae  opposite,  and  divine  anger 
was  appeased.  Might  not  the  dreadful  old  symbols  of  death- 
torches, — white  tongues  of  flame  on  a  black  background,  which 
used  to  cover  the  walls  of  one  of  the  Crichton  Church  tran- 
septs, used  as  a  tomb, — be  a  reminiscence  of  the  horrible  witch- 
nightmares  of  Hagbrae? 

Undoubtedly,  it  was  a  remnant  of  mediaeval  superstition, 
— a  remnant  indeed  of  the  earlier  devil-worship  of  Druidical 
and  later  times,  when  as  at  the  Callernish  stone  circle  in  Lewis, 
and  as  at  Stonehenge,  the  hot  red  blood  of  human  victims 
hurried  from  the  stone  of  immolation  down  the  drain  and  into 
the  thirsty  earth. 

The  same  thing  is  to  be  met  with  to-day  fifty  miles  in- 
land from  some  civilised  towns  in  British  West  Africa,  where 
the  only  religion  is  witchcraft,  and  the  only  priest  the  magic- 
man,  who  conducts  dealings  with  the  unseen  devildom,  with 
cannibalism  as  an  addition.  The  American  Indian  chief, 
who  was  treated  by  the  missionary  to  a  strong  dose  of  the 
sternest  Jonathan  Edwards  Calvinism,  with  its  extremest 
threats  and  most  awful  horrors  proceeding  from  the  Divine, 

(284) 


CAMP  MEG. 

replied  that  he  and  the  missionary  adored  the  same  deity; 
"  only,"  he  added  "  your  God  is  our  devil !"  One  thinks 
of  that  story  in  connection  with  the  horrors  of  Hagbrae.  The 
first  witch  was  burned  in  Scotland  in  1563;  the  last,  Maggie 
Osborne,— a  beautiful  young  girl  who  was  driven  stupid  by 
"  Adair,  the  saviour  of  Ayr,"  into  confessing  herself  a  witch, 

was  burned  in  1722,  and  is  buried  in  the  Fort  Churchyard 

in  Ayr,  under  the  shadow  of  the  church  tower  of  St.  John's, 
— all  that  remains  of  a  great  ecclesiastical  edifice,  which  Crom- 
well first  used  as  a  stable  and  then  demolished  to  build  his 
wall  round  Ayr,  and  to  fortify  the  town  of  Wallace,  Bruce, 
and  Burns. 

The  Act  against  witches  was  not  repealed  in  England 
until  1736,  and  in  Ireland  not  till  1821.  When  it  was  re- 
pealed in  Scotland  a  national  fast  and  day  of  humiliation 
were  held,  just  as  when  the  act  of  Catholic  Emancipation  was 
passed,  and  just  as  was  threatened  when  the  great  scourge  of 
cholera  raged,  had  not  Sir  Robert  Peel  given  the  very  sage, 
practical  advice, — "  Rather  clean  your  drains." 

Even  during  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
towards  its  close,  belief  in  witchcraft  lingered  in  Scotland. 
Dr  Chalmers,  while  in  the  Tron  Church  of  Glasgow,  used 
every  Sunday  to  visit  an  old  lady  at  Bogleshole,  between  Camp- 
sie  and  Glasgow, — Mrs  Elizabeth  Drew, — who,  when  Prince 
Charlie  swooped  down  suddenly  from  the  Highlands  and  quar- 
tered his  men  on  her  father's  farm  there,  remembered  vividly 
how  his  Highland  soldiers  cut  up  the  farm  cheeses  with  their 
swords  and  roasted  the  junks  at  the  kitchen  fire.  She  was 
only  a  little  fair-haired  girl  at  the  time,  and  Prince  Charlie, 
seeing  her  sitting  by  the  kitchen  fire,  frightened  and  anxious, 
went  up  to  her  and  stroked  her  gold  hair,  and  told  her  not  to  be 
afraid,  for  no  harm  would  come  to  her.  That  touch  became 
the  glory  of  her  life,  and  she  told  the  tale  often  to  Dr  Chal- 
mers and  other  Glasgow  citizens,  who  visited  her  regularly 
until  she  died  in  1821,  at  the  great  age  of  104.  An  oil-paint- 
ing of  her  is  still  in  existence.  As  a  little  child  she  was  be- 
witched by  a  passing  vagrant,  who  cast  on  her  "  the  evil  eye  " 
as  she  was  playing  in  the  farmyard.  For  long  she  "  dwined 
away  "  and  was  ill  and  sickly,  until,  through  the  exertions  of 
the  minister,  the  witch  was  discovered  and  forced  to  undo  the 
harm.  This  was  about  the  year  1730,  just  after  the  repeal 
of  the  witch-burning  laws  in  Scotland. 

(285) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

In  1775  n^ne  °ld  women  were  burned  at  Kalish,  in 
Poland,  "  charged  with  having  bewitched  and  rendered  un- 
fruitful the  land  belonging  to  a  gentleman  in  this  district." 
Such  is  an  extract  from  the  "Gentleman's  Magazine"  of 
1775.  Even  into  the  nineteenth  century,  more  especially  in 
the  Highlands  and  islands  of  Scotland,  the  belief  in  "un- 
canny folks  "  prevailed,  and,  indeed,  still  prevails  to  some 
small  extent  in  lonely  Highland  glens  beneath  the  awful 
shadows  of  the  great  Inverness-shire  and  Sutherland  bens. 
All  hill-peoples  are  superstitious,  and  England  still  thinks  that 
the  Scotch  are  full  of  superstitions,  and  of  strange  notions 
about  the  unseen  and  spiritualistic  communications  and  in- 
fluences. When  one  recalls  the  popularity  in  the  south  of 
"  Planchette,"  even  in  the  highest  places,  and  the  strange 
doings  of  "  the  souls,"  and  the  sober  statements  of  Mr  Alfred 
Wallace  and  other  scientific  spiritualists  regarding  their  com- 
munications with  the  unseen,  and  the  almost  universal  super- 
stitions as  to  lucky  horse-shoes,  May  weddings,  and  Friday 
sailings,  one  can  readily  forgive  the  simple  crofter  and  the 
lonely  Lewisman  fisher  for  kindred  beliefs,  surrounded  as 
they  are  with  the  steep  frowning  glories  of  dark  Highland 
mountain-chains  and  the  weird  loneliness  of  the  brown  moor 
and  desolate  ocean. 

Verily  Hagbrae  has  its  lurid  memories,  as  Crichton  Church" 
and  Castle  have  their  sacred  and  festive  ones.  The  old  spots 
where  the  Scottish  witch-fires  were  lighted  are  not  few  and 
far  between.  The  Cross  of  Edinburgh,  the  Cross  of  Dalkeith, 
the  Cross  of  Musselburgh,  were  all  famous  burning-places. 
The  Knock  of  Crieff  has  still  its  old  tree  to  mark  where  the 
spot  was  for  the  passing  of  the  witches.  The  Spott  of  Hadding- 
tonshire  has  its  terrible  memories.  But  for  a  lonely  business- 
like burning-place,  in  full  view  of  the  sanctuary  whose  God 
had  been  profaned,  there  is  no  place  to  equal  Hagbrae.  It 
was  a  good  thing  that  "  Camp  Meg,"  who  lived  early  last 
century  in  witch-like  solitude  and  eccentricity  on  the  summit 
of  the  Roman  Camp  Hill,  overlooking  Newbattle  on  the  one 
side,  and  Crichton  and  Hagbrae  on  the  other,  was  mercifully 
born  after  the  witch-burning  Acts  were  repealed,  or,  judging 
from  her  strong  supernatural  reputation,  which  still  lingers 
all  over  Eastern  Mid-Lothian,  she  would  have  added  a  fresh 
victim  to  the  witch-fires  of  Hagbrae. 

(286) 


CAMP  MEG. 

(b)     CAMP   MEG. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  whole  of 
Great  Britain  was  in  terror  lest  the  great  Napoleon,  who  had 
advanced  across  Europe,  conquering  and  to  conquer,  should 
steal  across  the  narrow  silver  streak  of  sea  which  separates  our 
little  group  of  rocky  islands  from  the  north-west  of  Europe, 
and  annex  our  patch  of  land.  Beacon-houses  and  watch-towers 
were  hurriedly  raised,  so  that  on  any  alarm  being  given  of 
the  approach  of  the  French  flat-bottomed  boats,  signals  could 
be  flashed  from  one  post  to  another  along  the  miles  of  shore. 
Indeed,  in  these  anxious  months,  the  appearance  at  night  of 
the  country  must  often  have  borne  a  striking  resemblance  to 
the  scene  on  the  memorable  Diamond  Jubilee  night,  when  Ber- 
wick Law  answered  Lammer  Law,  and  the  Lammer  flashed 
its  signal  to  Carnethy  and  Arthur's  Seat.  One  of  these  beacon- 
houses  was  raised  on  the  now  wooded  hill  known  as  the  Roman 
Camp,  from  which  a  magnificent  view  is  to  be  had  of  fourteen 
counties,  and  of  the  sea  from  Leith  to  the  desolate  Isle  of  May. 
That  there  was  once  a  Roman  Camp  on  that  hill,  above  historic 
Newbattle,  is  undoubted.  There  are  still  remains  of  mounds 
and  trenches,  and  the  marks  of  a  stone  circle,  where  probably 
the  General's  tent  was  pitched.  The  neighbourhood  is  rich 
in  Roman  remains.  The  village  of  Edgehead,  on  the  far  side 
of  the  Camp  Hill,  was  formerly  called  Chesterhill  (Camp 
Hill).  Dalhousie  Chesters,  the  Chesters,  and  other  place- 
names  of  to-day  all  point  back  to  the  Roman  occupation. 
There  are  small  camps  near  Borthwick  and  in  Heriot,  while 
Roman  bridges  still  stand  in  the  district,  notably  the  Maiden 
Bridge  of  Newbattle,  afterwards  adopted  by  the  Cistercian 
Monks  there  as  the  abbey  bridge,  near  which  the  great  gates 
were  raised.  Inveresk  hill,  crowned  with  the  "Visible 
Church"  of  St.  Michael's  (as  Newbattle  was  the  "invisible 
church,"  so  called  from  its  low-lying  site,  not  from  any  special 
grace  or  celestial  worth),  is  rich  in  Roman  remains,  and  altars, 
mosaics,  antiques,  and  even  a  well  remain  to  testify  that  there 
the  Roman  Eagles  were  gathered  together.  Recently  some 
fresh  coins  were  unearthed  on  the  hill. 

It  was,  then,  on  the  boldest  point  of  the  Roman  Camp 
Hill  that  a  beacon-house  was  built, — one  of  a  chain  along  the 
entire  east  coast ;  and  the  picture  rises  before  one  of  fire-flash 
answering  fire-flash  through  the  dreary  nights  of  anxious  wait- 

(287) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

ing, — relieved  for  other  people  in  towns  and  country  by  in- 
cessant drills  and  military  exercise,  in  preparation  for  the 
invader.  When  the  scare  came  to  an  end  in  1815,  and  Waterloo 
ended  Napoleon's  career,  the  lights  went  out  and  the  beacon- 
houses  fell  into  decay ;  and  in  the  deserted  watch-house  on  the 
Roman  Camp  Hill,  commanding  the  grandest  and  most  wide- 
spread view  probably  in  Scotland,  "  Camp  Meg  "  finally  took 
up  her  residence.  Without  question,  her  figure,  so  grotesque 
and  unearthly,  flitting  across  the  first  quarter  of  the  last  century, 
forms  one  of  the  most  curious  and  out-of-the-way  subjects'  of 
investigation ;  and  the  generations  which  knew  her  or  had 
heard  directly  of  her,  from  fathers  and  mothers,  are  rapidly 
disappearing.  There  are  still  some  few  remaining  in  the 
ancient  parish,  while  some  have  gone  to  lands  far  distant,  and 
others,  now  white  and  frail,  are  glad  to  hear  again  of  the 
weird  old  witch-doctor,  who  combined  veterinary  skill  with 
catechetical  instruction.  From  about  a  score  of  these  the  facts 
and  traditions  of  this  paper  have  been  carefully  gathered  and 
preserved,  ere  these,  too,  pass  away. 

The  consistent  tradition  of  all  the  old  folks  is  that  Camp 
Meg's  real  name  was  Margaret  Hawthorn,  and  that  she  came 
from  Galloway,  where  the  name  is  still  quite  common.  And 
the  story  usually  told  of  her  is  that  she  occupied  there  an 
excellent  social  position,  and  was  married  to  a  man  of  high 
position  and  considerable  fortune.  He  was  cut  off  early  in 
life,  leaving  her  a  widow,  with  one  little  son,  and  considerable 
means  and  landed  property.  She  had  not  been  long  widowed 
when  a  gentleman  who  lived  near  her  in  Galloway  came  and 
claimed  part  of  the  property  as  his,  a  claim  which  Margaret 
Hawthorn  knew  to  be  groundless,  as  her  young  husband  had 
left  everything  to  herself  and  her  babe.  The  bully,  however, 
tried  to  terrorise  her,  and  at  last,  maddened  with  his  insults 
and  injustice,  her  spirit  broke,  and,  seeing  her  evil  genius 
walking  through  the  grounds  of  which  she  was  proprietrix,  she 
walked  up  to  him  and  demanded  by  what  right  he  trespassed 
there.  His  reply  was  a  fresh  insult;  and,  stung  with  passion, 
she  drew  a  pistol,  which  for  some  time  she  had  been  carrying 
for  fear  of  him,  and  shot  him.  Looking  at  his  bloody  form 
lying  on  the  grass,  she  awoke  to  the  fact  that  she  was  a  mur- 
deress and  self -condemned  to  death,  and,  like  Cain  of  old, 
she  became  a  fugitive.  Leaving  all  her  property  behind  her, 

(288) 


CAMP  MEG. 

and  her  little  son,  who  she  knew  would  be  well  cared  for  by 
her  many  friends  in  Galloway,  she  ran  for  her  life,  not  know- 
ing whether  her  victim  was  absolutely  dead  or  only  dying. 
Travelling  by  night  and  day,  she  sought  a  lonely  spot  in  which 
to  pass  her  days  in  hiding  from  a  world  whose  laws  she  felt 
she  had  outraged.  But,  as  with  Eugene  Aram,  the  livid 
figure  rose  up  and  mocked  her  hopes  of  peace  and  happiness. 
After  many  a  strange  and  footsore  wandering,  she  at  last 
reached  Edinburgh,  and  then,  drifting  through  the  Lothians, 
she  finally  came  to  the  Newbattle  valley,  with  its  old  oaks 
and  big  straggling  village, — "  a'  to  the  tae  side," — and,  climb- 
ing the  hill,  which  gradually  rises  up  to  the  Roman  Camp, 
she  lighted  upon  a  deserted  cottage,  which  had  locally  come 
to  bear  the  name  of  the  "  Wartstone  House,"  and  somewhere 
about  1815  or  1816  she  made  this  bleak,  isolated  cottage  her 
refuge.  The  London  mail  coaches,  with  their  scarlet-coated 
drivers,  made  their  first  stop  from  Edinburgh  at  the  "  Sign  of 
the  Sun  "  (the  Lothian  Crest)  Inn  in  Newbattle,  which  still 
stands,  with  its  old  orifice,  through  which  hot  drinks  were 
handed  out  to  the  travellers.  It  is  now  no  longer  a  hostel, 
since,  instead  of  the  crack  of  the  whip  and  the  dust-cloud,  the 
thin  iron  line  of  civilisation  stretches  behind  the  trees,  and, 
with  a  ripple  of  lighted  windows,  the  Flying  Scotsman  roars 
southwards  on  its  eight-hours'  rush.  But,  far  away  up  in  the 
loneliness  of  the  Camp,  the  poor  fugitive  felt  secure  from 
message  or  messenger  of  doom  which  any  stage-coach  might 
bring,  although  sometimes  her  courage  failed  her,  when,  par- 
tially disguised  in  male  dress,  she  saw  a  strange  face  on  the 
hillside. 

Her  appearance  at  the  Roman  Camp,  and  her  manner  of 
life  were  mysteries  to  everyone.  It  is  said  that  she  told  her 
story  to  one  person  and  one  only,  and  it  was  never  divulged. 
Except  that  she  came  from  Galloway,  that  her  family  name 
was  Hawthorn,  that  she  was  a  widow,  her  husband's  name 
being  lost,  no  one  knew  anything.  After  living  for  some  time 
a  hermit  life  on  this  isolated  spur  of  the  Moorfoots,  she  began 
to  increase  in  confidence,  and  sought  for  something  to  do.  Mr 
Hope,  farmer  at  Blinkbonny,  on  the  far-off  side  of  the  hill, 
employed  her  in  cutting  whins,  casting  drains,  and  the  like, 
It  was  then  that  she  adopted  the  extraordinary  costume  which 
she  ever  afterwards  affected, — a  man's  hat,  vest  and  coat,  and 
T  (289) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

an  antiquated  pair  of  Wellington  boots, — everything  masculine 
save  that  garment  which  is  the  symbol  of  man's  supremacy, 
the  transference  of  which  to  the  other  side  of  the  house  can 
only  be  described  as  a  domestic  calamity.  Her  visage  was 
decidedly  masculine,  adorned  .as  it  was  with  a  slight  beard  and 
whiskers.  Many  indeed  who  saw  her  and  lived  in  terror  of 
her,  swore  she  was  a  man.  It  seemed  really  to  have  been  her 
ambition  to  look  as  unfeminine  as  possible,  probably  to  avoid 
detection  and  to  prevent  awkward  inquiries  as  to  her  past  and 
the  dark  crime  which  lay  across  her  path. 

After  living  at  the  Wartstone  Cottage  for  some  little  time, 
the  watch-house  where  the  sentry  had  resided  became  finally 
abandoned,  and  as  it  was  on  the  very  summit  of  the  hill  and 
more  lonely,  she  moved  thither  and  spent  twelve  years  or  so  in 
it, — in  fact,  till  her  death  in  1827  ;  and  from  her  residence 
there,  she  received  the  name  for  which  she  became  famous  all 
over  Mid-Lothian  and  Haddingtonshire, — of  "  Camp  Meg." 

Though  so  peculiar  and  eccentric,  she  was  a  shrewd,  clever, 
active  woman,  and,  both  in  speech  and  behaviour,  showed 
marks  of  high  breeding.  Once  good-looking,  grief,  anxiety, 
and  hard  usage  had  made  her  wizened,  queer,  and  odd,  and 
her  isolated,  lonely  life  at  the  Camp  had  increased  her  oddity, 
and  finally  the  entire  district  lived  in  some  slight  fear  of  her, 
regarding  her  as  somewhat  of  the  nature  of  a  witch.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  witchcraft  was  still  believed  in,  in  her 
age,  by  many,  and  Maggie  Osborne,  the  last  witch  burned  in 
Scotland,  and  buried  in  the  Fort  Churchyard  at  Ayr,  where  her 
stone  still  remains,  had  not  met  her  doom  so  long  before.  Many 
pious  people,  indeed,  early  in  the  last  century,  regretted  the 
abolition  of  the  penal  laws  against  witchcraft,  and  indeed  held 
that  several  disasters  which  came  to  Scotland  were  the  result 
of  their  removal.  Camp  Meg,  however,  was  no  witch,  though 
a  more  witch -like  figure  never  was  seen,  either  on  land  or  in 
the  illustrious  regiment  of  uncanny  ones,  who,  after  satan's 
sermon  to  them  at  North  Berwick,  hurried  across  the  Forth  on 
their  broomsticks  to  their  several  homes. 

The  furniture  of  her  little  hut  was  of  the  rudest  descrip- 
tion,— not  much  superior,  indeed,  to  that  of  the  pre-historic 
inhabitants  of  the  underground  dwelling  at  Crichton,  a  few 
miles  away.  The  seats  were  stumps  of  trees  and  stones, — not 
carved  stone  tables  and  chairs,  as  in  Alexander  Paterson's  re- 

(290) 


CAMP  MEG. 

nowned  cave  at  Gilmerton, — probably  the  original  of  Way- 
land's  cave, — but  rough,  primitive  arrangements.  Her  bed 
consisted  of  young  fir  trees,  cut  from  the  adjoining  woods, 
which  then  flanked  the  beautiful  hillj  the  curtains  were  sack- 
cloth bags.  Her  fame  spread  gradually  all  over  the  Lothians, 
and  she  was  visited  by  many.  Her  bull-dog,  "  Help,"  was 
kept  always  chained  behind  the  door, — "  my  trusty  freend," 
as  she  called  the  mangy  quadruped,  whose  Johnsonese  temper 
and  vicious  snaps  were  the  terror  of  the  visitor.  She  was  a 
famous  rider,  and,  in  an  age  when  "vets."  were  unknown, 
was  recognised  all  over  the  Lothians  as  a  first-class  horse 
doctor.  She  herself  was  sole  proprietrix  of  a  white  horse  bear- 
ing the  historic  name  of  "  Skewball."  He  was  a  fairly  well- 
bred  stallion,  but  lame  in  one  leg.  She  had  got  him  out  of 
the  Duke  of  Buccleuch's  kennel  park  to  cure  or  kill,  and  she 
so  doctored  the  apocalyptic  beast  that  he  made  a  very  passable 
steed  indeed.  She  sometimes  had  quite  a  gathering  of  invalid 
horses  to  undergo  the  fresh-air  treatment  in  her  hill  hydro- 
pathic. 

The  accommodation  for  the  sickly  Rozinantes  which  were 
put  under  her  charge  was  in  her  own  sleeping  apartment,  be- 
hind the  bed,  under  which  her  fine,  well-favoured  pig  enjoyed 
life, — a  family  group  of  peace  and  goodwill,  ruled  kindly  but 
firmly  by  the  greatest  character  of  the  century  in  the  district. 
Mr  Brown,  of  Currie,  whose  descendant  contributes  some  inter- 
esting reminiscences,  gave  her  a  very  fine  grey  mare,  which 
had  been  his  favourite  hunter,  but  which  he  thought  was  in- 
curable. The  equine  ^Esculapius  was,  however,  to  score  an- 
other triumph,  and  having  brought  the  mare  up  to  her  hill  hos- 
pital, hung  her  in  slings  from  the  roof,  so  that  her  feet  might 
not  touch  the  ground,  and  after  a  few  weeks  in  that  constrained 
position,  so  suggestive  of  ecclesiastical  minority  parties,  the 
mare's  pulse  grew  regular,  and  she  stepped  down  strong  and 
well,  to  be  a  fresh  jewel  in  Camp  Meg's  equestrian  crown. 
This  trophy  she  then  sold  to  Mr  Lees  of  Mountskip  for  ^7, 
and  he  afterwards  sold  it  to  Colonel  Maclean  of  East  Lothian, 
for  ^22,  who  called  it  "  Camp  Meg,"  after  its  deliverer,  and 
it  is  said  that  this  mare's  offspring  became  known  as  one  of 
the  finest  breeds  in  East  Lothian.  She  had  often  quite  a  little 
stud  of  horses  in  her  keeping,  and  took  the  greatest  pride  in 
curing  them  of  their  various  ailments,  though  whether  she  re- 

(291) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

peated  the  "  Absalom  Treatment  "  (with  the  positions  of  man 
and  mare  reversed)  history  declareth  not.  With  a  view  of  keep- 
ing her  horse-academy  before  the  world  of  farmers,  she  at- 
tended the  various  weekly  markets,  issuing  handbills  to  inform 
the  farmers  where  she  was  to  be  found  for  consultations  :— 
"Tuesdays,  Penicuik;  Thursdays,  Dalkeith;  Fridays,  Had- 
dington."  She  always  went  to  these  markets  in  full  equestrian 
state,  in  that  riding-habit  which  was  her  own  particular  make, 
over  which  she  wore  either  a  man's  greatcoat  or  the  military 
cloak  which  Mr  Brown,  of  Currie,  had  given  her.  As  she 
scampered  along  the  Dalkeith  streets  she  was  for  all  the  world 
like  a  Waterloo  veteran,  with  her  big  Wellingtons  and  martial 
greatcoat.  And  after  a  good  day's  business,  she  might  be  seen 
rushing  home  to  the  Camp  in  high  spirits.  "  Skewball  might 
toddle  down  from  D'Arcy  on  three  legs,  but  he  always  used 
all  fours  at  night,  and  his  ears  cowered  and  his  tail  stuck  out 
like  a  bottle-brush  on  the  homeward  journey." 

At  the  Dalkeith  races  Skewball  almost  always  was  allowed 
to  ride  in  victorious;  it  was  part  of  the  fun  of  the  fair,  but 
besides  that,  Meg  was  a  capital  horsewoman.  The  race-course 
was  then  at  the  west  of  Dalkeith,  from  the  head  of  the  Crofts 
Park  (near  Croft  Street)  round  by  Gallowshall  and  Newbattle 
tolls,  and  came  in  at  the  foot  of  the  park  by  Benbught.  On 
that  historic  arena  Meg  and  Skewball  had  many  a  hard  race. 
One  memorable  contest  has  been  described  by  John  Rigby, 
an  invalid  stone-mason,  who  in  1860  wrote  a  booklet  on  our 
heroine,  freely  interspersed  with  incidental  verses,  and  to  which 
we  are  indebted  for  a  number  of  the  incidents  described  in  this 
paper.  It  was  the  Dalkeith  Fair,  and  Camp  Meg  entered 
Skewball  for  a  race,  her  opponent  being  Mr  Cossar,  innkeeper 
at  Dalkeith,  who  owned  a  fine  grey  mare.  After  a  dispute  as 
to  whether  Meg's  white  horse  should  be  allowed  to  enter  the 
lists,  it  was  decided  by  a  majority  that  Meg  should  be  allowed 
to  compete.  Having  secured  an  urchin  to  ride  Skewball,  the 
race  began,  and  in  order  to  make  victory  a  certainty,  Meg  kept 
running  after  her  mount,  encouraging  Skewball  in  his  exertions, 
with  the  result  that  the  gallant  steed  won  the  race  by  two  heads. 
She  is  said  to  have  uttered  a  witch's  cry, — "  Talla,  talla,  tall, 
ada,  daum,  daa  !" — which  bewitched  her  rival's  mare,  and 
which  we  can  quite  believe.  When  Meg  was  fairly  victorious, 
clean  Dalkeith  trembled  with  excitement,  and  amidst  the  plaud- 

(292) 


CAMP  MEG. 

its  of  the  crowd  Meg  received  her  prize,  and  then  dashed  off 
for  the  Camp  to  her  old  solitariness.  Referring  to  her  mount, 
which,  like  Job's  war  horse,  is  historical  in  the  district,  she 
is  said  to  have  sung  the  following  rhyme,  which  Dalkeith 
schoolboys  long  ago  loved  to  repeat : — 

''  There's  flint  in  his  nose. 
There's  fire  in  his  tail, 
His  back  is  of  whalebone, 
His  legs  are  of  steel  ! 

Hurrah !  Hurrah  ! 

Here's  a  health  unto  Cossar, 
Tho'  he  is  the  loser  ! 
I'll  run  him  next  year 
On  the  very  same  ground  ! 
Hurrah  !  Hurrah  ! 

A  splendid  horsewoman,  she  was  often  to  be  seen  tearing 
across  the  D'Arcy  hill  at  a  breakneck  speed,  and  at  every  mar- 
ket and  race  in  the  district  her  presence  was  indispensable.  In 
later  days  the  Dalkeith  races  fell  away,  but  in  1860  some  lead- 
ing inhabitants  tried  to  revive  them  on  the  first  Saturday 
afternoon  after  the  October  fair,  when  good  horses  and  gaily- 
dressed  riders  were  to  be  seen.  Two  leading  gentlemen  of  the 
district,  now,  alas !  deceased,  and  from  whose  well-stored 
memories  many  of  these  incidents  have  been  culled,  remem- 
bered Meg  and  her  race,  and  delighted  to  describe  it  to  the 
writer. 

The  farmer  of  Southside  (a  fine  architectural  and  histori- 
cal building,  where  a  former  Marchioness  of  Lothian  resided) 
was  a  staunch  friend  to  Meg,  and  employed  her  regularly  to 
cure  his  cattle.  "  Hielan'  Donald,"  the  cattleman,  was,  how- 
ever, Meg's  pet  aversion.  Often  the  two  came  to  blows,  and 
once,  at  any  rate,  she  felled  him.  Running  into  the  farm 
kitchen  after  one  of  these  encounters,  Meg  made  the  poker  red- 
hot,  and  when  the  irate  Sandy  came  after  her,  she  generously 
offered  him  the  poker,  which  he  first  grasped  and  then  re- 
linquished, probably  on  the  principle  of  ' '  blessed  is  he  that 
sitteth  down  on  a  wasp's  nest,  for  he  shall  rise  again."  For 
this  barbarous  offence  she  was  forbidden  to  draw  near  to  South- 
side,  and  she  had  to  encounter  the  snell  north  wind  of  the 
master's  displeasure.  The  Highland  cattleman  declared  he 
would  always  have  a  burning  recollection  of  his  game  of  poker 
with  Margaret. 

Mr  Hope  of  Blinkbonny  had  a  fine  bull  which  died.  She 
(293) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

begged  the  carcase,  and  running  it  up  to  the  Camp,  made  fine 
hams  of  him,  for  which  the  faithful  soul  always  blessed  Mr 
Hope's  charity. 

One  memorable  day  a  rap  came  to  her  door  in  the  Roman 
Camp,  and  a  fine-looking  young  man  asked  if  Margaret  Haw- 
thorn lived  there.  She  replied — "  Yes,  and  what  do  you  want 
with  her?"  His  reply  was  that  he  did  not  know  much  about 
her,  but  that  he  had  travelled  many  a  mile  trying  to  find  her, 
and  that  if  she  lived  there  he  would  like  to  see  her.  Asked 
where  he  came  from,  he  replied,  "  From  Galloway."  Being 
further  interrogated  as  to  his  motive  in  searching  for  Margaret 
Hawthorn,  he  replied,  "  Oh,  she  has  been  missing  these  many 
years  and  no  clue  has  ever  been  got,  till  lately,  when  a  gentle- 
man told  me  that  she  would  be  found  in  Newbattle  Parish, 
living  at  the  Roman  Camp."  Meg  then  asked  him  what  he 
wanted  with  her.  "  Because,"  was  his  reply,  "  I  am  her  son; 
she  left  me  when  I  was  a  child,  and  I  have  never  seen  her 
since."  Meg  turned  upon  him  a  strange  unearthly  face,  and 
scanning  his  features  fiercely,  she  detected  the  traits  of  his 
dead  father.  "  Then,"  said  she,  "  I  am  your  mother  " ;  and 
overcome  with  emotion,  she  dropped  into  a  swoon.  Her  son 
nursed  her  tenderly  back  to  consciousness,  and  when  she  revived 
he  was  in  tears,  and  another  illustration  was  added  to  the  swol- 
len roll  of  the  past,  how  "  one  touch  of  Nature  makes  the 
whole  world  kin."  For  three  days  he  remained  at  the  Camp, 
during  which  he  urged  his  mother  to  return  to  Galloway  with 
him;  but  the  Camp  was  now  dearer  to  her  than  many  Gallo- 
ways, and  her  son  had  to  go  off  with  a  heavy  heart,  and  he 
never  saw  her  again. 

The  gentleman  who  had  given  her  address  to  her  son  had 
been  at  the  "  Caledonian  Hunt,"  a  famous  hare-hunt  held 
twice  a  year  in  the  Dalkeith  district, — once  in  autumn  and 
once  in  spring.  He  had  there  met  Meg  at  the  Camp,  and 
going  afterwards  to  Galloway  on  business,  he  met  a  person  of 
the  name  of  Hawthorn,  and  told  him  about  a  woman  of  that 
name  whom  he  had  met  at  Newbattle  at  the  Hunt,  with  the 
touching  result  that  a  long- lost  mother  found  a  long- lost  son. 

Meg  was  a  notable  figure  at  the  Caledonian  Hunt,  and 
received  the  greatest  attention  from  all  the  distinguished  mem- 
bers. When  the  scarlet-coated  huntsmen  rattled  across  the 
Camp  Hill  in  hot  pursuit  of  the  hare,  Meg  either  joined  in 

(294) 


CAMP  MEG. 

the  sport  or  meditatively  regarded  the  chase  from  her  doorstep. 
At  the  close  of  the  day  the  hat  was  invariably  sent  round,  and 
a  handsome  offertory  was  handed  to  Meg.  It  is  related  that 
once  she  saw  a  hare  hotly  pursued  by  "  Diddles,"  a  fine  dog 
belonging  to  Captain  D.  of  Woodburn,  and  by  another  belong- 
ing to  Dewar  of  Vogrie,  the  two  swiftest  dogs  ever  seen  by 
Meg  on  the  Camp;  Meg  watched  the  chase  and  saw  the  hare 
flash  across  the  fields  to  Newlandrigg  and  Vogrie,  and  thence 
up  to  the  Camp,  where,  opening  her  hospitable  door,  she  was 
good  enough  to  receive  the  hare  as  a  paying  guest.  The  pay- 
ment was  made  in  blood. 

The  poachers  of  the  district  had  no  sterner  foe  than  Meg 
of  the  hills.  She  always  kept  a  gun  and  a  horn  to  alarm  them, 
and  to  keep  the  game  on  the  Camp  from  being  disturbed.  One 
night  she  pursued  some  poachers  hotly  and  roared  after  them 
to  the  gamekeeper  where  he  would  find  them,  a  story  which 
greatly  amused  the  then  Marquess  of  Lothian,  who  used  often 
to  go  up  and  pay  Meg  a  visit.  Sometimes  she  made  mistakes ; 
one  night  she  fired  at  what  she  thought  was  a  poacher;  but  it 
was  only  a  tree-stump,  which  must  have  been  considerably  sur- 
prised at  Meg's  delicate  attentions. 

Fear  was  absolutely  unknown  to  the  strange  woman  who 
lived  in  the  lonely  bit  above  Blinkbonny.  Living  absolutely 
alone,  she  disliked  all  strangers,  and,  to  protect  herself  from 
attack,  kept  a  sickle  and  scythe  and  also  a  bayonet,  which 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Newbattle  forester  after  her  death. 

Many  have  recorded  the  way  in  which  she  received  and 
treated  them.  One  day  a  stranger  came  to  her  door,  and  was 
asked  very  sharply  by  her  as  to  his  intentions.  Dumb-stricken  at 
her  appearance,  her  masculine  visage,  costume,  and  bearing,  he 
hesitated  in  his  reply.  Not  to  be  trifled  with,  Meg  took  down 
her  scythe,  and  put  it  affectionately  round  his  neck,  and  lug- 
ged him  into  her  hut,  and,  causing  him  to  be  seated,  went  to 
the  cupboard,  not  to  get  the  poor  man  a  bone,  but  to  bring 
down  the  Mother's  Catechism  or  Shorter  Catechism,  "  for  those 
of  weaker  capacity,"  as  the  Westminster  divines,  in  a  moment 
of  grim,  sardonic  humour,  described  it  on  the  fly-leaf.  Her 
dog,  "  Help  "  (who,  however,  showed  no  disposition  to  assist 
the  wayfarer,  but  rather  the  contrary)  stood  waiting  on,  an- 
ticipating an  order  for  dental  operations.  But  the  wanderer 
rose  to  the  occasion,  and  managed  to  scramble  through  his 

(295) 


THE  ABBEV  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

answers,  meriting,  at  any  rate,  a  labour  certificate.  Meg  then 
asked  him  where  he  came  from,  if  he  was  married,  whether 
he  had  olive-branches  or  not,  while  the  pupil  sat  on  the  edge  of 
a  tree  -  stump,  trembling  with  fear,  and  anxiously  awaiting 
developments.  So  poor  an  appearance,  on  the  whole,  did  the 
stranger  make  in  the  way  of  replies,  that  Meg,  bidding  him 
farewell,  added  that  she  trusted,  when  next  he  came  to  see 
her,  he  would  show  greater  preparation  and  proficiency  in  the 
Catechism.  She  then  let  him  go,  and  showed  him  the  road 
over  the  Camp,  a  path  which  he  was  only  too  glad  to  see. 

One  very  stormy  night  a  wanderer  came  to  her  door. 
"  Margaret,"  cried  a  voice.  "  Well,  what  is  it?"  answered 
a  hoarse  bass  from  within,  sounding  a  deep  pedal  note,  coupled 
with  the  trumpet  and  clarionet.  Turning  on  the  full  swell, 
the  wanderer  cried,  "  For  God's  sake,  Margaret,  open  the  door 
and  let  me  in  or  else  this  very  night  I  will  perish."  "  I  will," 
quoth  she,  and,  taking  him  by  the  hand,  set  him  down  on  a 
tree-stump  at  the  fire.  "  Stop,"  said  the  visitor,  in  a  repentant 
mood,  "  I  think,  on  consideration,  I  will  rather  try  to  find 
my  way  home,  if  you  will  show  me  the  road."  "  No,  no," 
replied  the  old  witch,  "  ye  shall  bide  where  ye  are,  noo  ye  are 
here."  And,  scythe  in  hand,  she  threatened  him  if  he  breathed. 
In  a  vain  endeavour  to  get  into  her  good  graces,  the  wanderer 
tried  the  personal  and  family  card,  and  asked,  simply  and 
sympathetically,  "But,  Meg,  how  do  you  live  at  all?"  "Oh," 
she  replied,  "  I  eat  when  I'm  hungry  and  I  drink  when  I'm 
thirsty,  and  I  sleep  when  I'm  sleepy,"  which  virtually  meant, 
"  Ask  no  questions,  and  you'll  be  told  no  lies."  She  locked 
the  door,  and  went  to  bed,  putting  the  key  under  her  pillow, 
and  left  her  visitor  alone  all  night  beside  the  red  ingle  to  medi- 
tate. In  the  morning,  when  the  scarlet  bars  were  stretching 
themselves  across  the  sky  above  the  German  Ocean,  she  hoarse- 
ly ordered  him  to  prepare  for  his  departure.  Offering  him 
tea  (then  a  great  delicacy,  —  "that  new  China  drink,"  as 
Pepys  calls  it),  he  declined  it,  and  after  thanking  her,  with  a 
lump  in  his  throat,  he  said  he  would  never  forget  her  kindness, 
and  offered  to  do  anything  he  could  for  her  by  way  of  recom- 
pense. "All  the  return  I  want,"  was  her  reply,  "is  to  be 
left  alone."  But  the  stranger  did  not  forget,  and  ever  after 
sent  her  a  cart  of  coal  at  regular  intervals,  the  carter  being 
strictly  enjoined  never  to  divulge  the  identity  of  the  sender; 

(296) 


CAMP  MEG. 

but  one  day  she  discovered  her  benefactor,  and  mounting  Skew- 
ball,  strideways  as  usual,  she  rode  off  in  state  to  thank  him. 

She  had  a  curious  love  of  catechising  old  and  young,  and 
no  one  escaped.  Many  people  went  to  her,  to  see  herself,  her 
bull-dog,  her  horses,  and  all  the  other  inhabitants  of  her  hut, 
all  living  comfortably  under  one  roof,  but  every  one  who  came 
had  to  answer  the  "mother's  questions,"  even  the  Marquess 
of  Lothian  in  his  occasional  visits  being  put  through  his  fac- 
ings. She  knew  her  Bible  and  Catechism  thoroughly,  and  was 
actuated  by  a  strong  desire  to  make  others  have  the  same  ac- 
quirements. Indeed,  she  kept  a  kind  of  Sunday  School  in 
days  when  that  institution  was  almost  unknown  in  Scotland, 
and  many  of  the  old  folks  in  the  parish  owed  part  of  their 
religious  training  to  Meg.  The  writer  has  frequently  heard 
from  the  late  Mr  James  Rutherford,  Easthouses,  one  of  her 
pupils,  who  died  in  1886  at  the  age  of  ninety-two,  graphic 
accounts  of  her  dame-school,  while  Mr  John  Romans,  of  New- 
ton Grange  House,  who  is  so  well  versed  in  all  parish  mem- 
ories, his  sister,  and  Miss  Noble,  Easthouses,  the  respected 
daughter  of  the  late  respected  schoolmaster,  and  Mrs  M'Cul- 
loch,  Dalkeith,  and  a  few  others,  have  many  a  story  to  tell 
of  Meg's  relations  to  their  several  families.  The  late  Mr 
Deans,  Mr  Robert  King,  and  Mr  Joseph  Nelson  had  also 
many  traditions  of  Meg's  academy.  Though  her  very  name 
used  to  strike  terror  into  the  youthful  bosom  long  ago,  her 
treatment  was  kindly  in  a  way,  although  it  was  rather  an  un- 
propitious  inauguration  to  a  course  of  theological  studies  to 
be  introduced  into  the  witch's  divinity  hall  with  the  assistance 
of  a  sickle  round  your  neck. 

One  day  a  company  of  students  came  out  from  Edinburgh, 
as  hundreds  did,  to  see  her.  They  were  going  to  play  a  trick 
upon  her,  but  she  played  a  trick  on  them.  Her  door  did  not  go 
down  to  the  ground  quite  close,  and  so,  getting  ropes,  the 
young  sparks  tied  her  door,  but  she,  sharper  than  any  of  them, 
thrust  her  scythe-hook  underneath,  and  caught  one  of  the  ad- 
venturers by  the  leg,  and  did  not  let  him  go  until  he  had  given 
her  five  shillings,  which  he  was  only  too  glad  to  do.  The 
schoolboys  of  Cranstoun,  over  the  hill,  and  of  Newbattle,  used 
often  to  play  truant  from  school  in  order  to  go  up  and  pay 
Meg  a  visit,  and  multitudes  of  stories  are  still  in  circulation 
among  the  old  families  of  the  district,  but  there  is  a  family 

(29?) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

resemblance  among  them  all, — the  masculine,  bearded  dame, 
the  scythe  or  sickle  as  a  neck-companion,  "  Help,"  and  the 
white  pony,  being  common  to  almost  all  the  traditional  pic- 
tures. 

Old  Mr  Douglas,  the  well-known  farmer  of  D'Arcy,  was 
one  of  her  kindest  friends,  his  house  standing  only  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  from  Meg's  oratory,  and  the  deceased  gentleman's 
two  sons,  —  both  of  them,  alas  !  gathered  to  their  fathers, 
amid  the  regrets  of  a  wide  district, — having  occupied  posi- 
tions of  high  estimation  in  Dalkeith, — were  Meg's  constant 
benefactors.  The  money  gathered  at  the  Caledonian  Hunt 
for  Meg  was  kept  by  old  Mr  Douglas,  and  dispensed  to  her 
in  weekly  half-crowns,  in  case  of  any  sudden  and  extravagant 
thirst  on  the  old  lady's  part,  which  might  result  in  the  entire 
sum  being  melted  in  a  night.  Mr  Bertram,  farmer  at  Law- 
field,  adjoining  D'Arcy,  collected  the  dole  one  year,  and 
handed  the  capital  over  bodily  to  Meg,  and  she  forgot  herself 
and  lay  out  all  night.  De  Quincey,  it  is  true,  did  the  same 
in  the  neighbourhood,  dreaming  his  dreams,  and  was  even  in- 
formed by  a  maid-servant  in  Dr  Thomson's  house  in  Dalkeith, 
who  mistook  the  gentle  seer  for  a  tramp  selling  smallwares, 
that  "none  were  required  to-day."  But  the  cause  of  poor 
Meg's  outdoor  rests  was  not  so  elevated,  though  certainly  much 
more  elevating.  The  night  she  spent  under  the  stars  was  the 
evening  of  the  memorable  day  when  a  youth  of  twenty-six  was 
hanged  in  Dalkeith  for  having  robbed  Mr  Dickson,  of  Cous- 
land,  on  his  road  home  from  Dalkeith, — the  only  execution 
ever  held  in  the  clean  town.  Meg  was  carried  home  in  great 
distress,  and  the  boys  from  D'Arcy  went  over  next  day  to  pay 
her  a  visit.  Getting  a  teaspoon,  they  gave  her  some  bread- 
berry,  but  she  rejected  it.  Their  father  then  suggested  dipping 
the  warm  mouthful  in  whisky,  and  that  fetched  her. 

Poor  Meg  often  came  across  to  D'Arcy  Farm  to  die.  She 
made  her  will,  leaving  Mr  Douglas'  elder  son  her  guinea  pigs, 
the  horse  to  his  younger,  and  the  sticks  of  her  hut  to  himself, 
to  build  up  his  stacks  with.  One  Sunday  she  said  to  the  same 
boys, — "  I  wish  I  had  some  chicken  brae,"  and  at  once  secur- 
ing a  hen,  the  lads  cut  its  head  off,  and  put  it  bodily  into  a 
pot,  feathers  and  all.  When  the  cooking  was  over,  they  took 
the  ill-fated  bird  out  of  the  cauldron,  when  the  feathers  and 
upper  skin  all  came  away  in  a  piece,  like  a  dress  suit,  but  the 
soup  was  declared  by  Meg  to  be  an  admirable  compound. 

(298) 


CAMP  MEG. 

Though  really  only  an  eccentric  and  peculiar  character, 
in  her  day  and  generation  she  was  regarded  largely  as  uncanny. 
Some  people  declared  she  had  intimate  dealings  with  satan, 
and  had  she  lived  a  few  years  earlier,  when  a  day  of  humilia- 
tion was  held  in  Scotland  over  the  abolition  of  the  penal  laws 
against  witchcraft,  she  would  undoubtedly  have  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  witch-pricker  and  witch-burner.  Some  said 
she  was  to  be  seen  gathering  sticks  on  the  Camp,  and  at  the 
self-same  moment  she  was  to  be  observed  inside  her  house  work- 
ing her  spinning-wheel, — the  witch-gift  of  being  seen  in  two 
places  at  once.  Meg  said  herself  that  she  frequently  heard 
a  heavy  footstep  behind  her  in  the  wood,  and  that  she  occasion- 
ally saw  satan  there  with  "  a  face  as  old- looking  as  the  Pent- 
land  Hills  opposite  her  home,  and  wearing  a  cap  lowin'  red, 
trimmed  with  blue,"  but  that  she  had  always  power  to  keep 
him  off.  Mr  Romans  interestingly  narrates  how  she  used  to 
smoke  in  his  mother's  kitchen,  and  how  she  worshipped  the 
goddess  Nicotine.  One  night  she  called  at  D'Arcy  Farm, 
and  said  she  was  going  for  tobacco,  when  she  met  the  Evil 
One,  and  had  a  long  discussion  with  him.  She  described  his 
costume, — neat,  but  not  gaudy, — "  long  gaiters,  elongated 
horns,  and  a  red  hat."  On  this  occasion  he  seemingly  omitted 
the  blue  trimming  or  passementerie  which  he  usually  affected. 
After  having  had  enough  of  his  company,  she  turned  to  him 
and  said, — "  Ye  are  the  ugliest  beast  I  ever  saw  in  the  Camp, 
but  I'm  awa'  for  ma  'baccy."  She  enjoyed  nothing  better 
than  to  sit  and  smoke  in  Mr  Douglas's  hospitable  kitchen  at 
D'Arcy,  smoking  like  a  colliery  chimney,  and  telling  creepy 
tales  to  the  young  ones  and  the  gaping  circle,  of  her  interviews 
with  satan,  "  that  birsey  buddy." 

If  her  life  was  that  of  a  witch,  her  death  was  doubly  so. 
There  is  an  old  superstition  that  when  a  fearful  hurricane 
blows  it  marks  the  passing  on  that  night  of  a  witch's  spirit 
into  the  Unseen.  In  spring  1827  Meg  took  ill,  and  "dwined" 
for  three  weeks,  though  she  never  took  to  her  bed.  The  night 
before  her  death  a  terrific  and  most  memorable  snowstorm  came 
on,  and  so  tremendous  were  the  snows  that  the  hills  and  valleys 
were  wreathed  and  blocked,  and  the  hedges  and  roads  were 
level.  In  many  parts  the  snow  was  twenty  feet  deep,  and  the 
storm  was  dismal.  Next  morning  a  man  named  Darling  (whose 
descendants  are  still  parishioners,  and  slightly  related  to  the 

(299) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

illustrious  Grace)  bethought  himself  of  Meg,  and  in  a  kindly 
spirit  wondered  how  she  had  fared  that  dreadful  night  on  the 
storm-swept  hill.  With  enormous  difficulty  the  kind-hearted 
man  climbed  the  Camp  Hill,  and  found  Meg  lying  a  lifeless 
corpse  on  her  own  doorstep,  half  covered  with  snow.  It  was 
thought  she  had  risen  during  the  night  to  see  the  storm-fiends 
at  work  among  the  Moorfoots,  Pentlands,  and  Lammermuir 
hills,  and  overcome  with  cold,  she  perished  at  her  own  door. 

During  her  illness,  Dr  Otto,  of  Pathhead,  visited  her  sev- 
eral times,  and  old  Mr  Douglas  and  others  showed  her  every 
kindness.  Next  day  a  few  farm-servants  dressed  and  shrouded 
her ;  not  a  woman  was  near.  Eight  men,  servants  of  Mr 
Bagrie,  of  Southside,  conducted  the  funeral.  Two  of  them, 
yoked  like  horses,  drew  in  front,  with  a  rope  attached  to  the 
coffin ;  another  held  on  by  a  rope  behind  lest  the  coffin  should 
run  down  the  two  pullers  as  they  struggled  down  the  frosty, 
slippery,  snow-blocked  hill-side;  while,  to  steady  it,  James 
Baillie,  the  Southside  hind,  sat  stridelegs  over  the  coffin,  and 
so  they  slid  down  the  hill,  over  hedges  and  ditches  and  every- 
thing,— James  Baillie  all  the  time  holding  refreshments  in  his 
hand,  and  dispensing  them  at  convenient  intervals,  as  with 
many  a  halloa  and  hooroo  they  proceeded  towards  the  venerable 
churchyard  in  the  valley. 

As  they  passed  the  "  Sign  of  the  Sun  "„  Inn,  the  Rev.  Mr 
Thomson,  minister  of  the  parish,  met  the  weird  cortege,  and, 
the  weather  being  so  Alpine  in  its  severity,  suggested  that  the 
farm-servants  who  had  conducted  the  funeral  should  be  re- 
freshed, and  indicated  a  bottle  of  whisky  as  a  not  unsuitable 
way  of  carrying  out  his  wishes.  In  the  party  went  to  the  old 
inn, — still  standing  near  Newbattle  Church, — and  very  quickly 
the  mistress  waited  on  them.  Mr  Thomson, — whose  much- 
respected  son,  the  late  Mr  Charles  Wodrow  Thomson,  C.A., 
was  a  well-known  Edinburgh  citizen  in  later  years, — had  omit- 
ted, however,  in  the  usual  ministerial,  unbusiness-like  way,  to 
mention  what  kind  of  bottle  the  Church  would  provide  for 
her  plucky  sons ;  but  the  farm-servants  took  a  generous  view  of 
the  situation,  and,  assuming  that  the  minister  meant  the  largest, 
ordered  a  jar;  and  the  entry  for  this  and  other  expenses  con- 
nected with  Camp  Meg's  sickness,  death,  and  burial,  is  still 
to  be  seen  in  the  kirk-session  records  of  Newbattle  : — 

"  October  2,  1825. — By  Margaret  Hawthorn^  in  straits  -    os.  6d. 

(300) 


CAMP  MEG. 

December  18,  1825. — By  Margaret  Hawthorn,  in  straits  os.  6d. 

January  15,  1826. — By  Margaret  Hawthorn,  in  straits  6s.  od. 
February  5,  1826. — By  Margaret  Hawthorn,  in  straits 

and  for  lodging  -  8s.  od. 

February  26,  1826. — By  Margaret  Hawthorn,  straits, 

Ad.,  -  4S-  od. 

March  n,  1827. — Margaret  Hawthorn,  -  4s-  od. 

May  13,  1827. — By  the  church  officer  for  bread,  &c., 

for  Margaret  Hawthorn's  funeral,  -  -  is.  gd. 

Do.,  do.,  for  digging  ditto's  grave,  -  is.  6d." 

"  Bread,  &c."  is  rather  a  good  one,  reminding  one  of  the 
humorist's  caustic  account  of  Scottish  New  Year  customs,  and 
the  inch  of  shortbread  and  a  quart  of  something  else,  and  the 
invitation  to  "  taste  my  New  Year  bannock." 

During  the  progress  of  the  events  detailed  in  the  above 
extract  with  such  fine  reticence  and  self -repression,  the  coffin 
stood  outside  on  the  road  with  its  ropes  loose.  Coming  out 
of  the  inn  evidently  refreshed  not  a  little,  the  men  resumed 
their  work  of  mercy  and  pulled  the  coffin  past  the  church  and 
up  the  hill,  and  entered  the  churchyard,  burying  Meg  near  the 
wall  which  overhangs  the  road, — the  old  thorn  tree  which  grew 
near  her  grave  being  now  away.  No  stone  marks  her  grave, 
but,  then,  Creech,  Robert  Burns'  friend,  patron,  and  benefactor, 
until  recently  lay  there  too,  unhonoured  and  unmemorialised. 

Mr  Romans,  Newton  Grange  House,  has  the  account  for 
her  burial  expenses,  and  remembers  the  funeral,  as  also  do 
several  other  veterans  in  the  neighbourhood.  Meg  herself  had 
during  her  lifetime  sold  her  body  to  Dr  Otto,  Pathhead,  when 
bodies  were  scarce  and  resurrectionists  active,  for  the  munificent 
sum  of  ;£i.  The  resurrectionist  scare  is  borne  evidence  to 
in  Newbattle  Churchyard  by  ever-recurring  coffin  irons  to  hold 
the  coffin  to  the  grave-bottom,  and  by  the  old  resurrection- 
house,  which  was  lately  removed.  Meg's  body  was  to  be, 
therefore,  a  special  favour  to  her  kind  doctor;  but  she  stipu- 
lated that  after  he  was  done  with  her,  she  was  to  be  buried  up 
in  the  dear  old  Camp,  which  had  so  long  sheltered  her  Hagar- 
like  life,  with  a  hawthorn  tree  at  her  head,  as  an  emblem  of 
her  name.  But  she  lies  buried  still  in  the  pine-encircled  old 
churchyard,  where  so  many  generations  peacefully  sleep. 

A  local  bard  has  thus  "  dropped  into  poetry  "  over  poor 
Meg  and  her  "  passing,"  although  the  style  is  strongly  re- 
miniscent of  the  "  spring  poets  "  : — 

"  Caledonia's  huntsmen  now  safely  may  scamp, 
Since  their  heroine's  gone,  the  pride  of  the  camp  : 
Her  hones  are  at  rest,  but  her  soul's  on  the  tramp 

(301) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

In  the  valley  of  death,  through  yon  dreary  swamp  ! 
Safe  thither  may  she  be  led  by  a  lamp — 
The  Lamp  of  Glory  !" 

The  Camp  House  has  long  since  been  levelled,  only  one 
stone  being  left  as  a  memorial  of  Meg,  and  a  sweet-wreathed 
hawthorn  tree.  The  generation  that  knew  her  is  fast  passing 
away,  and  the  quaint  old  witch-figure  is  fading  away  gradu- 
ally into  the  dimness  of  oblivion.  And  yet  the  light  of  other 
days  brings  a  tenderness  to  the  heart,  and,  perhaps,  even  a 
moistness  to  the  eyes ;  and  if  not,  at  any  rate,  a  moment's  look 
at  the  weird  vision  flitting  betwixt  the  old  order  and  the  new 
is  a  relief  and  refreshment  amid  the  prosaic  commonplace  of 
ordinary  life. 


PERSONAL  NOTES  AND  RECOLLECTIONS. 

Mr  JOHN  ROMANS,  J.P.,  C.C.  for  Newbattle,  &c.,  very 
kindly  contributes  the  following  : — "  I  was  only  between  seven 
and  eight  years  old  when  Camp  Meg  died,  but  my  sister,  Mrs 
Duncan,  who  is  five  years  my  senior,  remembers  her  personality 
better  than  I  do.  Camp  Meg  was  no  witch  or  palmist,  as  any 
discreet,  educated  person  would  have  certified  after  five  min- 
utes' conversation  with  her.  She  was  a  regular  visitor  to  my 
father's  house  and  workshop,  at  Newbattle,  either  on  Monday, 
the  meal  market  day  in  Dalkeith,  or  on  Thursday,  the  corn 
market  day.  She  possessed  emphatic  argumentative  abilities, 
especially  on  doctrinal  religious  questions,  which  was  also  a 
characteristic  feature  in  my  father's  nature,  and  I  have  seen 
the  two  nearly  quarrelling  over  opinions  expressed  in  '  Boston's 
Fourfold  State.'  Nevertheless  she  had  a  high  opinion  of  my 
father.  She  was  a  tall,  muscular  woman,  not  fat,  but  wiry, 
deeply  bronzed,  with  deep  lines  set  in  the  entire  visage,  bushy 
eyebrows,  and  a  prominent  chin  and  nose.  She  walked  as  if 
she  considered  herself  born  to  command,  and  expressed  herself 
after  the  same  manner.  She  was  peculiar  in  several  of  the 
ordinary  habits  of  social  life.  In  riding, — which  she  invariably 
did  when  visiting  in  her  professional  vocation, — she  always 
rode  astride  the  horse.  Her  dress  was  something  between  that 
of  a  male  and  a  female.  She  wore  an  ordinary  low-crowned 
man's  hat,  which  was  tied  under  the  chin  with  a  good  thick 

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CAMP  MEG. 

cord  or  thong.  She  on  most  occasions  wore  long  leather-legged 
boots,  which  covered  the  knees,  but  I  have  seen  her  with  her 
legs  wrapped  in  straw  or  hay  ropes  from  her  ankles  to  above 
the  knees.  She  wore  a  thick  greyish  woollen  skirt,  a  little 
longer  than  a  Highlander's  kilt.  Usually  she  wore  a  kind  of 
waistcoat  made  from  the  skin  of  an  animal, — probably  a  calf 
or  a  dog, — and  over  all  she  wore  what  now  appears  to  have 
been  a  huntsman's  or  a  military  officer's  coat.  It  had  brass 
buttons,  and  was  of  the  swallow-tailed  shape.  I  don't  think 
she  used  stirrups,  at  least  I  do  not  remember  seeing  any,  and 
I  was  frequently  privileged  to  be  elevated  on  to  the  saddle, — 
a  very  comfortable  one, — that  was  fixed  on  the  back  of  '  Skew- 
ball  '  (that  was  the  name  of  Meg's  horse),  but  she  never  per- 
mitted me  to  be  my  own  horseman,  just  leading  it  round  my 
father's  close  a  few  times,  and  then  lifting  me  carefully  down. 
She 'generally  had  some  little  requirements  she  wanted  from 
my  father,  such  as  a  piece  of  board  and  a  few  nails,  and  while 
these  were  being  prepared,  she  took  a  seat  by  our  kitchen  fire, 
where  my  mother  would  serve  her  with  such  food  as  was  con- 
venient ;  and  as  the  kail-pot  was  in  use  every  day,  a  visitor 
could  never  come  wrong.  In  those  days, — now  seventy-five 
years  ago, — all  roads  were  bad,  and  those  in  Newbattle  parish 
especially  so,  and  badly  fenced.  In  descending  from  Meg's 
residence  on  the  Roman  Camp,  Skewball  used  to  arrive  in  our 
close  pretty  well  covered  with  mud,  especially  if  the  Esk  was 
in  flood,  as  Meg  never  used  the  bridge  if  the  river  was  ford- 
able,  in  which  case  Skewball  received  a  thorough  washing; 
but  if  compelled  to  use  the  bridge,  I  well  remember  how  Meg 
and  I  mopped  the  horse  all  over,  which  he  seemed  to  enjoy. 
At  the  time  I  am  writing  about,  the  veterinary  profession  was 
scarcely  known,  and  Meg  was  then  the  acknowledged  horse  and 
cow  doctor  in  the  neighbourhood,  about  which  I  had  facilities 
of  knowing  something  special,  as  my  grandmother, — the  Lady 
of  Newton  Grange,  as  she  was  styled, — kept  five  or  six  cows, 
and  her  only  '  veterinarian  '  was  Meg,  whose  services  were 
frequently  required.  On  occasions  I  have  known  her  sit  an 
entire  night  in  the  house  watching  the  invalid  cow,  and  invari- 
ably passing  much  of  her  time  in  perusing  the  Bible.  This 
was  not  the  act  of  a  witch  or  vagrant.  It  has  been  reported 
that  Camp  Meg,  or  Margaret  Hawthorn, — as  that  appears  to 
be  her  real  name, — belonged  to  Gallowayshire,  and  was  of 

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THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

gentle  blood,  and  because  of  some  domestic  troubles  she  fled 
from  her  native  place  and  adopted  this  Gipsy  sort  of  life.  As 
for  the  truth  of  this,  I  can  say  nothing,  but  thirty  years  ago 
when  visiting  Whithorn  I  found  there  was  a  landed  proprietor, 
— a  Major  Hawthorn,  of  Castle  Wigg,  in  that  neighbourhood. 
I  ventured  to  make  enquiries  in  connection  with  our  heroine, 
but  the  Major  was  reticent,  and  I  failed  to  elicit  reliable  in- 
formation, although  it  still  strikes  me  forcibly  that  the  family 
I  refer  to  is  the  clan  to  whom  Camp  Meg  belonged  originally. 
The  mansion-house  is  about  two  miles  from  Whithorn.  I  have 
now  only  to  relate  what  I  remember  about  Meg's  death  and 
burial.  In  the  month  of  February,  1827,  there  was  a  severe 
snowstorm,  and  the  roads  were  blocked  up  for  days.  Meg  was 
missed  from  Cock  Houlet,  a  southern  suburb  of  Westhouses, 
but  long  since  wiped  off,  where  she  frequently  visited.  Affec- 
tionate curiosity  led  Willie  Darling,  of  Cock  Houlet,  to  pilot 
himself  up  the  hill  to  Meg's  cabin,  when  on  forcing  the  door 
poor  Meg  was  found  dead,  lying  in  front  of  what  had  been  a 
fire,  but  now  burned  out.  My  father  was  then  the  wright  and 
undertaker  in  Newbattle,  and  Willie  called  upon  him.  The 
two  proceeded  to  the  manse  and  reported  the  case  to  Rev.  John 
Thomson,  who  authorised  my  father  to  attend  to  the  necessary 
interment  of  Meg,  and  after  a  visit  to  the  Camp  a  coffin  was 
carried  up  by  my  father  and  two  of  his  workmen,  when  the 
body  of  the  deceased  was  solemnly  deposited  in  it,  and  two 
strong  bars  of  wood  were  transversely  fixed  on  the  bottom  and 
two  longitudinal  ones  nailed  under  them,  to  which  ropes  were 
attached,  and  some  eight  or  ten  men  dragged  it  over  the  snow 
down  to  Blackcot,  where  a  cart  was  procured  and  conveyed 
it  to  the  Churchyard  of  Newbattle,  where,  near  the  centre, 
poor  Meg  was  buried.  I  may  here  state  there  is  no  truth  in 
the  current  reports  that  there  was  much  drunkenness  at  Meg's 
obsequies.  Sure  am  I  that  where  my  father  had  control,  no 
drunkenness  would  be  tolerated,  for  he  was  rigidly  a  tem- 
perate man,  although  not  an  abstainer.  Of  course,  where  there 
were  a  dozen  men  to  regale,  and  possibly  some  of  them  tumb- 
ling amongst  the  snow,  an  extra  dram  might  be  given,  but  that 
is  not  drunken  revelry.  It  has  been  stated  to  me  by  respon- 
sible parties  that  after  the  funeral  the  men  who  assisted  had 
liquor  ad  libitum  in  the  '  Sign  of  the  Sun  '  hostelry,  paid  for 
by  the  Marquis.  This,  like  several  others,  is  fabulous,  as  the 

(304) 


CAMP  MEG. 

1  Sun  '  Inn  was  deprived  of  its  licence  in  1825,  two  years 
before  Meg's  death,  and  the  only  public-house  in  the  village 
was  the  '  Dambrig  '  Inn,  kept  by  Mr  William  Stephenson,  a 
man  who  was  an  elder  of  the  kirk-session  for  upwards  of  thirty 
years,  and  who  would  permit  no  drunkenness.  The  inn  stood 
opposite  to  the  present  clock  tower  of  the  Marquis's  stables. 
Before  closing  this  time-worn  reminiscence  (it  is  seventy-five 
years  since  Meg  died)  I  may  state  that  in  those  days  that 
piece  of  country  between  Meg's  cabin  and  Mansfield  was  in 
a  state  of  prairie,  growing  only  whins,  brooms,  sloe-bushes, 
briars,  and  heather,  —  a  fertile  region  during  the  breeding 
season  for  grey  Unties,  and  the  boys  of  Newbattle  made  good 
use  of  netting  them.  Meg  more  than  once  presented  me  with 
a  bird  of  this  description,  and  I  remember  presenting  her,  with 
my  father's  permission,  with  a  few  hundred  young  leeks  for 
her  garden.  In  conclusion,  you  may  take  it  from  me  that 
Camp  Meg,  though  a  recluse,  was  a  God-fearing,  well-meaning 
woman." 

Mr  GEORGE  DOUGLAS,  J.P.,  Dalkeith,  who  remembers 
Camp  Meg  well,  kindly  furnishes  the  following  note : — ''Camp 
Meg's  horse's  name  was  Skewball ;  she  bought  it  from  a  Mr 
Cossar.  At  that  time  there  used  to  be  what  were  called 
Carters'  Plays.  People  who  had  horses  got  them  decked  with 
ribbons,  &c.,  and,  after  walking  about  for  some  time,  had 
races.  Meg's  horse  won  a  race,  and  she  was  so  delighted  she 
wrote  a  poem  about  it.  I  only  recollect  one  verse;  it  was 
this — 

{  Here's  to  Mr  Cossar,  though  he  be  the  loser, 

And  may  no  ill-fortune  attend  him  at  all  : 
May  good  health  and  blessings  always  attend  him, 
For  it  was  from  him  I  bought  my  Skewball.' 

Many  people  called  on  Meg,  and  she  used  to  question  them. 
She  did  not  take  her  questions  from  any  question  book.  Here 
is  one — '  What  is  it  that  God  ordered  to  be  done,  but  was 
never  done,  but  was  well  done  ?'  This  was  when  Abraham  was 
ordered  to  offer  up  his  son  as  a  sacrifice.  She  was  a  notable 
person  in  the  district.  Young  servant  women  on  what  was 
called  the  '  churning  week,'  if  the  churn  did  not  '  get,'  blamed 
Meg  for  witching  it,  and  some  of  them  believed  it.  Of  course, 
this  was  nonsense ;  she  had  no  dark  power.  Meg  used  to  keep 
hens,  and  to  prevent  them  going  into  the  corn  fields,  she  put 
strings  about  their  legs  and  tethered  them  to  the  ground.  Her 
0  (305) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

house  was  on  the  corner  of  a  field  farmed  by  my  father.  The 
day  Meg  died  she  had  been  in  Dalkeith  to  see  a  man  hanged 
for  robbing  a  farmer  going  home  from  Dalkeith  market.  On 
the  afternoon  of  that  day  an  awful  storm  came  on.  A  very 
heavy  snow  fell,  and  was  accompanied  with  hard  frost  and  a 
strong  wind.  Meg  managed  to  reach  the  Camp,  but  died  from 
starvation  either  out  or  inside  of  her  own  door.  The  roads 
were  so  blocked  that  no  conveyance  could  be  utilised,  so  a  rope 
was  tied  round  the  coffin, — on  which  was  seated  a  man  to 
steady  it, — and  drawn  down  to  Newbattle  Churchyard." 

Mr  F.  P.  DEANS,  cashier  of  the  Lothian  Coal  Co.,  Ld., 
writes  : — "  What  has  appeared  in  '  The  Scotsman  '  is  sub- 
stantially the  story  told  us  by  our  father,  who  knew  Meg  well. 
As  you  know,  the  Parish  School  in  those  days  was  located  at 
Westhouses,  and  it  used  to  be  a  common  practice  for  the  boys 
to  visit  Margaret  at  the  top  of  the  brae.  She  was  of  very 
masculine  appearance,  and  although  the  boys  stood  in  great 
awe  of  her,  still  they  were  drawn  to  her  by,  as  it  were,  some 
magnetic  influence.  She  used  to  put  them  through  their  exer- 
cises with  regard  to  the  '  Carritches,'  as  the  Shorter  Catechism 
was  called,  and  should  they  unfortunately  not  come  up  to 
Meg's  standard  of  accuracy  in  repeating  the  particular  question 
asked  them,  she,  as  a  punishment,  would  not  let  them  away 
until  they  learned  it,  and  this  they  had  to  do  forthwith. 
They  also  helped  (or  thought  they  helped)  her  in  her  garden 
sometimes,  by  way  of  earning  her  goodwill.  Her  influence 
with  the  boys  on  the  whole  was  of  a  healthy  nature." 

Miss  MARGARET  NOBLE,  residing  at  Easthouses,  has  at- 
tained the  long  age  of  eighty-seven,  and  remembers  Camp  Meg 
well.  Her  father,  as  is  well  known  to  the  neighbourhood, 
was  schoolmaster  and  elder  in  Newbattle,  and  enjoyed  the 
respect  of  everyone.  The  school  presided  over  by  Mr  Thomas 
Noble  was  at  first  in  Westhouses  and  afterwards  at  Easthouses. 
When  at  Westhouses,  Mr  Noble's  son  John  was  a  great  favour- 
ite with  the  heroine  of  the  Camp,  and  was  often  caught  up 
by  her  and  conveyed  on  Skewball  to  her  lonely  cottage.  On 
one  occasion  Meg  brought  him  and  locked  him  in  with  herself 
in  the  cottage  in  order  to  ask  him  his  questions,  but  the  child 
fainted  with  fear,  and  ever  after  spoke  of  his  instructress  with 
dread  and  misgiving.  Miss  Noble,  when  at  Easthouses,  re- 
members seeing  Camp  Meg  ride  daily  through  the  village, 

(306) 


CAMP  MEG. 

dressed  in  a  man's  brown  coat,  with  a  wisp  of  straw  round  her 
waist  and  a  sickle  stuck  in  it  for  self-protection.  The  village 
children  followed  her,  addressing  her  by  name.  On  one  occa- 
sion, Miss  Noble  relates,  Meg  was  desirous  of  having  a  brood 
of  chickens,  and,  taking  a  number  of  eggs,  she  put  them  in  a 
pot  and  placed  it  on  her  fire  for  a  time ;  and  in  due  season  the 
eggs  broke  and  the  chickens  were  hatched  and  afterwards 
reared  by  her.  Meg  made  linen  thread  in  her  hut,  and  Mrs 
Noble  used  to  buy  it  from  her  in  the  Westhouses  Schoolhouse. 
The  Baigries,  of  Southside,  were  very  kind  to  Meg,  and  their 
governess  used  often  to  come  up  to  the  Camp  and  talk  with 
her.  On  one  occasion  the  governess  asked  Meg  why  she  lived 
as  and  where  she  did,  and  suggested — "  Surely  there  is  some- 
thing wrong."  Whereupon  Meg  took  down  her  Bible  and 
made  the  governess  swear  with  her  hand  on  the  book  that  if 
she  told  her  she  would  never  divulge  the  tale.  She  then  told 
her  story,  which,  however,  was  for  ever  kept  a  profound  secret 
by  her  visitor.  In  Miss  Noble's  early  days  Mrs  Hunter  occu- 
pied the  stone  house  in  Westhouses.  Every  Sunday  afternoon 
the  children  of  the  hillside  went  up  to  Meg's  cottage  to  go 
through  their  Catechism.  In  those  days  Sunday  Schools  were 
few  and  far  between,  the  only  one  in  the  parish  being  held 
on  Sunday  mornings  by  the  minister's  sister,  Miss  Thomson, 
in  the  old  church  in  the  valley.  The  baptism  of  Miss  Noble 
is  entered  opposite  "  yth  March,  1819  :  born  2pth  January, 
1819.  John  Grainger,  elder,  and  Alexander  Wilson,  wit- 
nesses." 

Miss  JANE  CLYDE,  now  residing  in  Newbattle  village,  is 
one  of  four  parishioners  who  have  lived  under  five  British 
Sovereigns  and  remember  four  coronations.  She  remembers 
Camp  Meg  quite  well,  and  was  impressed  with  her  su- 
perior bearing,  fine  features,  and  generally  commanding 
personality.  She  can  recall  her  riding  through  Dalkeith 
stridelegs  on  Skewball,  with  all  the  children  of  the  town 
after  her,  tugging  her  cloak.  Her  father,  James  Clyde, 
was  second  forester  on  the  Marquess  of  Lothian's  estate,  and 
to  him  was  allotted  the  task  of  planting  the  trees  on  the  Roman 
Camp  Hill,  which  form  the  present  beautiful  and  picturesque 
plantation.  Previous  to  this,  the  Camp  hills  were  covered  with 
heather,  brushwood,  brackens,  &c.,  and  formed  good  cover 
for  all  kinds  of  game.  Hence  the  "  Caledonian  Hunt  "  paid 

(307) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

this  hillside  frequent  visits, — visits  which  ceased  altogether 
after  the  plantations  appeared.  While  engaged  in  planting 
these  trees,  James  Clyde  took  his  mid-day  meal  regularly  in 
Camp  Meg's  house,  and  was  treated  by  her  with  the  greatest 
civility.  Often  in  the  evening,  however,  round  his  own  cheer-, 
ful  ingle,  he  used  to  say  to  his  children, — "  How  would  you 
like  to  live  in  a  house  like  Meg's,  which  has  neither  tables  nor 
chairs,  nor  yet  a  bed?"  At  one  time  Miss  Clyde's  father  had 
been  in  the  army,  and  when  stationed  at  Ayr,  remembered 
how  an  officer  of  the  name  of  Hawthorn  in  the  barracks  there 
used  to  pay  regular  visits  to  Galloway  to  visit  relations,—- 
relations  whom  he  associated  in  later  years  with  Margaret  Haw- 
thorn of  the  Newbattle  Camp.  Miss  Clyde  thinks  that  the 
Rev.  J.  Thomson,  minister  of  Newbattle,  was  the  recipient  of 
all  Camp  Meg's  confidences  and  history,  but  that  no  one  else 
ever  knew  the  truth  about  her.  Mr  Thomson,  who  is  mem- 
orialised in  Newbattle  Church  by  his  son,  the  late  Mr  Charles 
Wodrow  Thomson,  C.A.,  Edinburgh,  was  the  author  of  a 
sermon  on  "  The  Constraining  Power  of  the  Love  of  Christ," 
which  was  much  admired  in  his  generation  (1813-1841).  Miss 
Clyde  remembers  how  Captain  Dalrymple,  of  Woodburn,  mar- 
ried the  widowed  Countess  of  Haddington,  who  came  to  reside 
there  with  her  husband, — an  early  friend,  before  her  marriage 
to  the  Earl  of  Haddington, — and  of  the  kindness  of  the  Count- 
ess to  Camp  Meg,  who  delighted  to  recite  poetry  and  the  like 
to  her  affable  and  warm-hearted  patroness.  Miss  Clyde  also 
remembers  that  after  the  coronation  of  George  IV.  (who 
visited  Newbattle,  and  in  whose  honour  the  "King's  Gate"  was 
erected),  the  Countess  brought  home  from  London  to  all  her 
Newbattle  friends  some  souvenir  of  the  memorable  occasion. 
Miss  Jane  Clyde  for  long  preserved  the  memento  given  to  her, 
— a  spectroscopic  opera-glass,  which,  by  turning  a  handle, 
revealed  the  coronation  procession  going  to  and  returning  from 
Westminster  Abbey.  In  the  days  when  her  father  was  en- 
gaged in  planting  the  Roman  Camp  woods,  the  bare  hill  had 
at  its  foot  the  large  village  of  Westhous"es,  then  extending  in 
several  long  rows  at  the  foot  of  Cock  Houlet  Farm,  now  wiped 
away,  but  remembered  still  through  the  wood  which  bears  its 
name  to-day.  The  village  had  a  school, — still  standing,— 
and  in  the  midst  of  "  the  toun  "  rose  a  large  stone  double- 
storied  house,  built  by  Miss  Thomson,  who  had  a  small  holding 

(308) 


CAMP  MEG. 

of  land  at  Westhouses.  Many  years  ago,  when  one  of  the  old 
houses  was  being  demolished,  a  large  quantity  of  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots  coins, — gold,  silver,  and  bronze, — was  discovered  in 
the  "  found  "  of  the  house.  Westhouses,  like  Easthouses,  is 
one  of  the  ancient  settlements  of  the  parish,  and  both  names 
appear  in  the  Chartulary  of  Newbattle  Abbey.  It  is  averred 
that  Joseph  Smith,  the  founder  of  Mormonism  in  America, 
had  a  direct  family  connection  with  Westhouses,  just  as  Quak- 
erism had  one  of  its  earliest  homes  and  advocates  in  Newbattle 
village  in  the  person  of  Alexander  Jaffray  (Leighton's  friend 
and  next-door  neighbour),  whose  diary  is  a  work  of  great  inter- 
est as  showing  the  early  difficulties  and  struggles  of  the  Society 
of  Friends  in  Scotland.  ["  Diary  of  Alexander  Jaffray,  Pro- 
vost of  Aberdeen,  one  of  the  Scottish  Commissioners  to  King 
Charles  II.,  and  a  member  of  Cromwell's  Parliament,"  edited 
by  John  Barclay  :  published  at  Aberdeen,  1856,  by  G.  &  R. 
King.  Alexander  Cant,  minister  of  Newbattle  about  1639-41, 
— Leighton's  immediate  predecessor, — was  Jaffray's  father-in- 
law.  Cant  afterwards  became  minister  of  Aberdeen,  and  his 
son-in-law,  Jaffray,  followed  him  thither  and  became  Provost. 
Jaffray's  old  house,  next  his  father-in-law's  manse, — on  the 
other  side  of  the  church, — is  now  wiped  away,  and  was  for 
long  associated  with  the  Misses  Lumsden,  who  kept  a  market- 
garden  on  the  west  side  of  the  church.] 

The  late  Mr  JAMES  RUTHERFORD,  Easthouses,  was  one 
of  Camp  Meg's  pupils,  and  often  told  the  writer  of  her  strange 
sayings  and  doings.  Mr  Rutherford  died  in  the  year  1888 
at  the  ripe  age  of  ninety-two,  and  was  so  hale  and  hearty  that 
only  four  days  before  his  decease  he  walked  from  Easthouses 
to  Leith  and  back,  a  distance  of  six  or  seven  miles.  On  one 
occasion  Camp  Meg  had  to  endure  the  ill-will  of  one  of  Lord 
Lothian's  gamekeepers,  who  reported  her  to  the  Marquess  for 
poaching.  Mr  James  Rutherford  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Mar- 
quess, to  Camp  Meg's  dictation,  pleading  her  innocence  and 
begging  an  audience.  The  Marquess  granted  her  an  audience, 
and  not  only  absolved  her  of  all  blame,  but  allowed  her  to 
remain  at  the  Camp  unmolested.  Mr  Rutherford  was  largely 
taught  by  Meg,  and  remembered  her  instructions  to  his  dying 
day. 

Mr  THOMAS  FALCONER,  for  most  of  his  life  resident  at 
Newbattle,  who  died  at  Fala  at  an  advanced  age  beyond  eighty- 

(309) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

five,  remembers  Camp  Meg's  funeral,  and  also  knew  her  well 
in  her   lifetime,    and  often  experienced   her   somewhat   sharp 
and  cutting  welcome,  when,  with  her  sickle  round  his  neck,  she 
led  him  into  her  hill-seminary  to  answer  his  questions  and  say  . 
his  "  carritch." 

Mrs  ALLAN,  Oakmount,  Lasswade,  whose  father,  the  late 
Mr  David  Dunlop,  was  teacher  of  Newbattle  School,  and  held 
in  highest  respect  by  everyone,  kindly  records  some  additional 
memories  handed  down  to  her  : — "  Mrs  B.,  in  Bonnyrigg,  used 
to  live  at  Maisterton  Mains, — cottages  above  Maisterton  House, 
near  Billhead.  Her  father  was  Edward  Japp.  When  their 
water  supply  ran  short  in  summer,  she  used  to  go  to  where 
Meg's  house  had  been  to  get  water  at  her  spring.  Like  the 
rest  of  us,  she  pretended  Camp  Meg  was  chasing  her,  and  ran 
so  fast  with  her  pitchers  or  '  stoups  '  (carried  on  a  yoke)  that 
nearly  all  the  water  was  '  skailed  '  before  she  got  out  of  the 
Camp.  This  did  not  hinder  her  taking  gooseberries  off  a  bush 
of  Camp  Meg's.  She  got  the  '  berries  '  first  before  she  fled. 
A  man  lived  in  Camp  Meg's  house  after  she  died,  and  I  saw 
his  son  once ; — the  baby  was  born  in  the  hut.  I  saw  old  John 
Wilson,  who,  the  day  he  was  born,  sat  on  Camp  Meg's  knee. 
His  father,  Charles,  had  a  shop  in  Easthouses,  and  Meg 
chanced  to  come,  and  during  her  visitation  took  the  baby  on  her 
knee.  John  Wilson  went  to  her  Sunday  School  afterwards. 
His  father  helped  Camp  Meg  to  teach  in  it." 

The  late  Mr  JOHN  GORDON,  whose  widow  still  resides  in 
Mansefield,  died  in  1884,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three.  He 
used  to  herd  the  cattle  of  Mr  Stephenson,  the  farmer  of  Manse- 
field,  and  often  went  up  and  had  tea  with  Camp  Meg,  being 
a  very  special  favourite  of  hers.  He  too  had  to  answer  his 
questions  like  the  rest.  He  used  to  tell  how  Camp  Meg  was 
called  upon  to  attend  to  calving  cases  at  Brothershiels  and 
Nettleflat,  and  when  her  work  was  done  the  people  at  both  of 
these  farms  on  Tyneside  used  to  be  glad  to  get  her  off,  such 
was  their  fear  of  her  and  her  strange  ways.  John  Gordon 
began  life  as  "  herd  "  to  Mr  Stephenson,  of  Mansefield,  and 
latterly  with  Mr  Douglas,  of  D'Arcy,  whose  son  in  time  farmed 
Mansefield  also,  so  that  his  long  life  was  spent  on  the  one  hill- 
side, faithfully  and  honourably. 

Mrs  TORRANCE,  who  resided  at  Dewartown,  at  the  foot  of 
the  Camp  Hill,  on  the  east  side  of  the  range,  dying  at  the  age  of 

(3io) 


CAMP  MEG. 

eighty-five,  was  a  sister  of  John  Baillie,  who,  with  his  uncle, 
James  Baillie,  James  Lindsay,  and  Darling,  conveyed  Meg's 
body  from  her  hut  to  Newbattle.  She  knew  Meg  well.  An- 
other of  her  brothers,  William  Baillie,  was  the  man  who  found 
Meg  dying  at  her  door  in  the  snowstorm: — "  He  had  been 
going  to  Edgehead  from  Southside  for  snuff  for  our  father, 
and  thought  he  would  take  a  turn  up  the  hill  a  little  farther 
and  see  how  Meg  had  fared  in  the  storm.  He  found  her  lying 
on  the  threshold  of  her  door  nearly  dead,  and  carried  her  into 
her  hut  and  laid  her  on  her  bed,  when  almost  immediately  she 
expired.  Meg  held  a  capital  school  on  Sunday  afternoons, 
and  kept  the  children  in  terror.  She  would  have  come  over 
their  head  in  a  moment.  She  was  a  small,  thick-set  woman, 
and  had  a  witch-reputation,  and  was  a  splendid  rider  and 
horse-doctor.  She  quarrelled  once  with  an  Easthouses  woman, 
and  it  is  said,  and  it  was  believed,  bewitched  her  cow  in  re- 
venge, and  had  to  be  got  back  again  to  undo  the  evil.  My 
sister  had  a  baby,  and  we  took  it  up  to  see  Meg,  and  she  held  it 
in  her  lap.  From  that  day  to  this  my  sister  never  knew  the 
fact  that  Meg  had  embraced  her  bairn,  or  she  would  have  been 
afraid  of  the  consequences.  The  general  idea  was  that  she 
had  murdered  some  one  in  Galloway,  and  it  is  a  fact  that  her 
son  came  to  see  her.  I  can  vouch  for  all  these  facts." 

Mr  PETER  HENDERSON  (aged  eighty-two),  who  resided 
with  his  nephew  at  Carfraemill,  near  Lauder,  remembers  well 
the  London  stage-coaches  running  past,  and  has  also  a  large 
store  of  recollections  of  witch-stories  of  the  neighbourhood, 
but  strangely  cannot  recall  Camp  Meg  or  anything  at  all  about 
her. 

In  an  age  when  superstitious  beliefs  had  not  altogether 
died  out,  it  was  hardly  to  be  wondered  at  that  something  of 
the  supernatural  surrounds  Camp  Meg,  when  the  legend  of 
"The  Gray  Brother  of  Newbattle,"  celebrated  in  verse  by  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  recalls  the  spiritualistic  belief  of  former  days, — 
that  "  Gray  Brother  "  said  to  have  been  seen  on  certain  nights 
of  the  year  in  the  oak-forests  of  Newbattle,  just  as  Ralph,  the 
first  Abbot  of  Newbattle,  was  said  by  the  chronicler  to  have 
seen  the  Evil  One  in  the  woods  around  "  with  a  face  as  black 
as  pitch."  (See  Newbattle  Chartulary.) 

One  of  Camp  Meg's  favourite  Scripture  posers  is  still 
quoted  by  the  older  generation  of  Newbattle  and  Dalkeith 

(3") 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

people, — "  What  act  in  Scripture  did  God  command  to  be 
done,  and  it  was  not  done,  and  yet  it  was  well  done?"  The 
answer  is, — "  Abraham's  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  which  God  re- 
quired, and  which  was  not  accomplished,  and  yet  it  was  coun- 
ted unto  Abraham  for  righteousness."  Many  of  her  other 
questions  and  sayings  are  still  among  the  floating  traditions 
of  Eastern  Mid-Lothian.  Her  old  pupils  are  now  few  and 
far  between,  but  the  traditions  and  stories  die  hard,  and  the 
old  families  of  the  parish,  some  of  them  tracing  back  almost 
to  the  Reformation  (as  can  be  vouched  for  by  the  old  colliery 
account-books  and  other  parish  records),  cherish  the  memory 
that  their  fathers  knew  and  had  their  earliest  religious  lessons 
at  the  feet  of  this  strange  yet  pious  fugitive,  whose  only  library 
was  her  Bible  and  her  Catechism. 

The  "  Royal  Caledonian  Hunt,"  founded  in  1777,  is  still 
in  existence,  the  patron  being  the  King  and  the  president  the 
Earl  of  Eglinton  and  Winton.  A  distinguished  committee- 
list  appears  in  Oliver  &  Boyd's  Almanack.  One  of  the  joint- 
secretaries,  Sir  Kenneth  J.  Mackenzie,  writes  that  "  the  records 
of  the  Caledonian  Hunt,  as  far  as  I  can  ascertain,  have  no 
mention  of  Camp  Meg."  When  the  Camp  Hill  was,  however, 
suitable  for  the  chase,  the  bright-coated  huntsmen  were  re- 
gularly to  be  seen,  until  the  plantation  made  hunting  imprac- 
ticable, and  the  society  sought  new  ground  west  of  Edinburgh. 

The  name  of  Hawthorn  is  well  known  still  in  Galloway, 
and  in  Whithorn  there  are  several  families  bearing  that  desig- 
nation, and  these  have  been  communicated  with,  with  respect 
and  courtesy.  No  reply  has  been  vouchsafed,  from  which  the 
reader  will  form  his  own  conclusions  as  to  the  strangeness  and 
mystery  surrounding  the  whole  affair.  It  is  said  that  Nathaniel 
Hawthorne,  the  brilliant  American  essayist,  hailed  from  the 
same  neighbourhood  and  belonged  to  the  same  clan  :  but  of  this 
and  of  other  statements  connected  with  the  original  home  and 
connections  of  Camp  Meg  there  is  no  absolute  certitude. 

Similar  cases  to  that  of  Camp  Meg  are  not  unknown  even 
at  the  present  day.  The  Hermit  of  Ardnamurchan  is  fresh 
in  the  public  recollection.  Until  quite  recently,  in  one  of  the 
many  caves  on  the  west  coast  of  Arran,  near  the  King's  Cave, 
where  Robert  the  Bruce  hid,  protected  by  the  spider's  web, 
a  strange  man  lived, — possibly  still  lives, — who  had  never 
spoken  to  any  of  the  people  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  lived 

(312) 


CAMP  MEG. 

a  hermit  life,  stealing  potatoes,  trapping  rabbits,  and  catching 
fish.  There  is  a  similar  case  in  a  lonely  part  of  Lewis,  near 
the  Butt,  but  the  hermit  spends  his  time  exclusively  in  reading, 
and  his  solitary  hut  is  papered  entirely  with  illustrated  papers 
of  a  generation  ago.  Even  in  more  intellectual  spheres,  the 
poet  Chatterton,  "  the  marvellous  boy  who  perished  in  his 
pride,"  belonged  to  the  same  class.  Pride,  grief,  disappoint- 
ment, the  sense  of  unfitness  for  the  battle  of  life,  and  other 
occult  causes,  produce  similar  effects  in  our  own  time,  leading 
some  to  look  out  on  life  either  figuratively  or  actually  "through 
the  loop-holes  of  retreat."  The  same  tendency  accentuated, 
leads  the  disappointed  girl  to  the  convent  and  the  life-sick  man 
to  the  monastery,  there  to  learn  in  time  the  mistake  of  shutting 
oneself  off  from  life's  ennobling  and  helpful  influences  in  order 
to  escape  its  heartbreaks.  The  Trappist  life  is  seldom  a  saintly 
one.  Zimmermann  on  "  Solitude  "  makes  excellent  reading, 
but  it  is  a  very  one-sided  statement  of  the  case.  Divine  Pro- 
vidence has  arranged  all  things  well,  and  solitude  and  society 
are  both  alike  angels  from  above.  The  forgotten  poet  Parnell 
of  more  than  two  centuries  ago  gives  the  best  commentary  on 
the  life  of  the  coenobite  and  the  hermit : — 

"The  silent  heart  which  grief  assails 
Treads  soft  and  lonesome  o'er  the  vales, 
Sees  daisies  open,  rivers  run, 
And  seeks  (as  I  have  vainly  done) 
Amusing  thought, — but  learns  to  know 
That  solitude's  the  nurse  of  woe." 


Note  on  Newbattle  Churchyard,  Restirrection-House,  &°c. 

In  the  days  of  Burke  and  Hare,  the  famous  resurrection- 
ists who,  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  and  during  early  years 
of  the  past  century,  rifled  the  graveyards  of  Scotland  for  bodies 
for  the  surgeons  of  Edinburgh  to  dissect,  in  days  when  it  was 
difficult  to  acquire  corpses  for  anatomical  purposes,  the  friends 
of  any  person  just  buried  watched  in  turns  in  the  churchyard 
lest  the  dreadful  resurrectionists  should  put  in  their  appearance 

(3i3) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

and  dig  up  the  body.  In  the  churchyards  round  about  Edin- 
burgh special  precautions  were  always  taken,  and  the  coffin 
was  fastened  to  the  bottom  of  the  grave, — always  deep, — by 
heavy  iron  rivets,  some  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen,  while 
round  watch-houses  were  built  "either  in  the  middle  or  against 
one  of  the  walls  of  the  graveyard.  In  all  the  ancient  church- 
yards round  about  Edinburgh  the  watch-house  is  to  be  seen, 
or  was  to  be  found  at  any  rate  till  lately.  A  very  fine  speci- 
men is  standing  in  the  old  churchyard  of  Dalkeith.  The 
watch-house  was  really  a  small  fort  with  narrow  openings 
round  and  round,  through  which  the  watchers  could  in  safety 
keep  guard  over  the  churchyard  by  night,  and  fire  upon  any 
night-prowler  in  search  of  bodies.  The  old  folks  in  all  the 
villages  and  hamlets  round  about  Edinburgh  can  tell  many 
blood-curdling  stories  of  churchyard  fights  over  the  dead,  in 
the  days  of  Burke  and  Hare.  In  Newbattle  churchyard 
several  people  involved  in  these  skirmishes  lost  their  lives.  As 
Newbattle, — anciently  Newbottle  (new  residence), — is  one  of 
the  most  historical  parishes  in  Scotland,  in  whose  venerable 
Abbey  the  Queens  of  both  Alexander  II.  and  David  II.  are 
buried,  though  unhonoured  by  any  memorial,  so  its  churchyard, 
famous  in  resurrectionist  days,  was  the  favourite  Saturday 
haunt  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  when  living  as  a  young  man  in  the 
thatched  house  at  Lasswade,  a  few  miles  off  (which  is  still 
occupied),  and  is  believed  to  be  the  original  of  the  churchyard 
in  "  Old  Mortality."  Sir  Walter  Scott  constantly  wandered 
among  its  quaint  tombstones,  which  include  a  splendid  table- 
monument,  richly  carved  in  bone-pattern,  to  the  Welshes,  one 
branch  of  whom  gave  Thomas  Carlyle  his  wife;  and  De  Quin- 
cey,  who  used  to  reside  with  his  girls  at  Polton,  four  miles 
off,  used  often  to  wander  by  starlight  among  these  gaunt 
memorials  of  the  past,  sleeping  sometimes  under  the  shadow 
of  the  great  Abbey  wall,  still  standing  in  front  of  the  parish 
church,  and  built  by  William  the  Lion.  Christopher  North  is 
remembered  still  at  Newbattle  as  wandering  among  the  ancient 
trees  and  retreats.  William  Creech,  the  Edinburgh  publisher  and 
provost, who  put  Robert  Burns  on  his  feet,  and  to  whom  the  Ayr- 
shire ploughman  bard,  in  gratitude  for  publishing  his  songs,  in- 
scribed several  pieces,  including  the  well-known  "  Willie's 
awa',"  was  born  in  the  old  manse  near  the  churchyard,  his 
father  being  the  parish  minister  in  1745.  A  small  bit  of  broken 


CAMP  MEG. 

sandstone  is  all  that  remains  in  the  churchyard  of  the  original 
memorial  either  to  the  father  or  to  the  son,  whose  kindness 
to  and  sympathy  with  the  lonely  Ayrshire  genius  gave  Scotland 
her  greatest  poet,  and  the  world  the  printed  Edinburgh  edition 
of  his  songs  and  satires.  Archbishop  Leighton  was  minister  of 
Newbattle  from  1641-1653,  and  in  the  church  his  pulpit  and 
sacramental  plate  are  still  in  use,  while  his  old  house  forms 
part  of  the  present  manse,  under  the  roof  of  which  his  library, 
hour-glass,  and  other  time-worn  relics  are  carefully  preserved. 
The  largest  beech  tree  in  the  world  grows  at  Newbattle. 


(315) 


XXUI. 

GEOLOGY  AND  NATURAL  HISTORY 
OF  NEWBATTLE. 

THE  district  lies  'between  the  Pentland  and  Moor  foot 
hills,  and  the  North  and  South  Esks  are  the  main 
arteries  of  the  fertile  lands  which  lie  between  these 
hills.       The  Moorfoots,  at  their  greatest  height  are 
some  1800-1900  feet,  and  the  highest  summits  of  the 
Pentlands  measure  between  1500  and  1800  feet.     A  magnifi- 
cent coal  formation,  the  fossilized  forests  of  prehistoric  times, 
'fills   the   whole   valley.     In   the   hilly   south-east   district   the 
rocks  are  of  grey-wacke  and  clay-slate,  while  quartz,  spar,  and 
steatite,   are  found  in  small  quantities.     The   Moorfoot  hills 
are    of    grey  -  wacke,    while    the    Pentlands    are    mainly    of 
porphyry.        Occasionally    whinstone,    granite,    syenite,    and 
other  primitive  rocks   are  met   with.        Coal,    limestone,   and 
sandstone   are   everywhere   and   extensively    worked.        It   is 
undoubted  that,   like  Arthur's   Seat  and  Berwick  Law,   Car- 
nethy  and  other  Pentland  peaks  are  old  volcanoes,  —  their 
very  shape, — the  soft,  regular,  cone-shaped  peaks, — even  recent 
records  in  earthquake  disturbances, — being  strongly  reminiscent 
of  Vesuvius  and  other  burning  mountains.     The  splendid  al- 
luvial soils  of  the  district,  with  the  sand  and  gravel  and  rounded 
dunes,  carry  one  back  to  the  ice  age,  when  glaciers  glided  down 
to  the  low  levels,  leaving  in  their  train  the  broken  fragments 
and  debris  of  former  worlds. 

The  Newbattle  monks  were  the  earliest  workers  of  coal  in 
Scotland,  and  worked  into  the  sides  of  the  river  and  the  hill, 
bringing  out  their  "black  stones."  The  exposed  surface  of 
the  coal  can  often  be  seen  in  the  banks  of  the  Esk,  and  even 
in  the  course  of  the  Roman  Camp  Hill.  Some  of  the  coal 
seams  are  broken,  evidently  by  some  of  the  volcanic  eruptions 
of  which  Carnethy  and  Arthur's  Seat  tell  the  tale.  The 
general  order  of  the  coal-seams,  beginning  from  the  basis  lime- 
stone, and  going  upwards  is  as  follows  : — (i)  The  "  Parrot  " 

(3i6) 


GEOLOGY  AND  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  NEWBATTLE. 

seam  (3  ft.  3  ins.  thick)— a  cannal  coal,  dry,  and  used  for 
enriching  gas;  (2)  the  "  Kaleblades  "  seam  (4  ft.  5  ins.  thick) 
—with  a  band  of  fireclay  in  its  midst;  (3)  the  "  Splint  "  seam 
(4  ft.  thick);  (4)  the  "  Coronation  "  seam  (3  ft.  6  ins.  thick); 
(5)  the  "Siller  Willie"  seam  (2  ft.  6  ins.  to  4  ft. 
thick);  (6)  the  "Diamond"  seam  (i  ft.  10  ins.  thick);  (7) 
the  "  Great  "  seam  (7  ft.  6  ins.  thick);  (8)  the  "  Mavis  "'seam 
(2  ft.  3  ins.  thick) — a  stony  coal  of  little  value.  The  fossils 
of  the  great  coal-seams  in  this  "  carboniferous  limestone  for- 
mation," are  very  interesting  and  varied,  and  it  is  quite  easy 
to  reproduce  the  entire  prehistoric  scene  of  the  great  primeval 
forest,  with  its  animals  and  reptiles,  all  now  far  beneath  the 
surface  and  fossilized.  The  flowers  and  plants  of  the  district 
to-day  are  accurately  summarized  in  a  valuable  little  book, — 
"  A  pocket  Flora  of  Edinburgh  and  the  surrounding  district," 
by  C.  A.  Sonntag  [London :  Williams  &  Norgate,  1894]. 
Many  of  the  plants,  trees,  and  vegetables  now  quite  common 
in  the  neighbourhood  were  introduced  by  the  Newbattle  monks, 
who  brought  them  over  from  the  Continent  and  naturalized 
them.  The  beautiful  plantations  which  clothe  the  Esk  valleys 
and  the  hillsides  are  nearly  all  artificial,  and  indeed,  tree- 
planting  was  one  of  the  special  features  of  monastic  industry. 
The  wonderful  beeches  and  other  trees  which  have  for  centuries 
been  the  glory  of  this  district,  were  planted  to  take  the  place 
of  the  rugged  brushwood  and  Caledonian  oak-forest  which 
covered  the  entire  region  with  a  virgin  stunted  growth.  The 
same  primeval  growths,  of  the  simple  uncultivated  trees  and 
brushwoods  of  early  times,  can  be  seen  all  over  America, 
where  the  hand  of  man  has  not  been  moving.  Only  fragments 
of  that  old  stunted  forest  are  remaining  in  the  Dalkeith  Palace 
grounds,  and  a  few  straggling  primeval  oaks  in  Newbattle. 
The  birds  of  the  district  have  been  summarized  and  classified 
by  Mr  Tom  Speedy,  in  his  valuable  work  on  "  Craigmillar 
and  its  environs  "  [Selkirk  :  Lewis].  In  the  banks  of  the  Esks 
the  heron  and  the  water-hen  are  frequent  visitors;  while  some 
of  the  rarer  visitors  include  the  spotted  crake,  peregrine  falcon, 
osprey,  greylag  goose,  bullfinch,  buzzard,  crossbill,  dipper, 
hawfinch,  jay,  kestrel,  merlin,  quail,  raven,  siskea,  tufted 
duck,  chough,  dotteril,  goldfinch,  kingfisher,  owl  (barn,  long- 
eared,  short-eared,  and  tawny),  great  spotted  woodpecker,  eider 
duck,  great-crested  grebe,  common  sea-gull,  mallard,  oyster 

(31?) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

catcher,  ringed  and  golden  plover,  pochard,  sheld  duck,  shovel- 
ler, skylark,  snipe,  teal,  tern  (common,  little,  and  sandwich), 
widgeon,  woodcock,  lapwing.  Grouse  used  to  be  common  on 
the  Roman  Camp  Hill,  but  are  now  rarely  seen.  The  cuckoo 
is  heard  early  in  the  Spring  in  the  Esk  valleys,  witness  the 
place-names,— "  Gowkshill,"  "  Gowkpen  "  (Cockpen),  "Peni- 
gowk  "  (Penicuik), — of  the  district.  Starlings  hibernate  in 
the  Newbattle  valley  in  tens  of  thousands,  and  blacken  the  sky 
every  winter  evening.  Swallows  build  their  nests  in  abund- 
ance, and  many  northern  bird's  make  the  soft  warm-aired  New- 
battle  valley  their  winter  quarters.  Owls  are  found  in  large 
numbers,  and  at  night  make  the  valley  weird  enough,  while 
bats  are  numerous.  An  occasional  kingfisher  is  to  be  seen  in 
the  river,  which,  with  recent  efforts  to  cleanse  and  purify  it, 
is  now  fairly  well  stocked  with  small  trout.  The  monks'  fish- 
pond is  now  occupied  by  the  new  Lothian  burial-ground.  The 
Newbattle  fathers  were  careful  pisciculturists,  and  cultivated 
trout,  &c.,  in  their  large  pond,  and  where  they  kept  their  oy- 
sters, besides  plying  the  rod  in  the  adjoining  river,  which  even 
still  has  good  fishing.  Of  wild  animals,  the  only  rare  ones 
now  seen  are  the  badger  and  fox,  while  hares,  rabbits,  hedge- 
hogs, squirrels,  weasels,  &c.,  are  quite  common.  All  sorts  of 
sea-birds  are  to  be  seen  inland,  especially  in  stormy  weather, 
feeding  in  the  fields,  and  an  occasional  rare  ocean-wanderer 
can  be  spotted. 

For  the  cultivation  of  flowers  and  fruit,  the  district  has 
been  justly  famous  for  centuries.  At  Parduvin  (French  "  par 
du  vin  ")  a  simple  country  wine  seems  to  have  been  made, 
while  Newbattle  had  its  "  Elder-flower  wine."  A  famous 
"  Floral  Club  "  used  to  meet  thirty  years  ago  and  more  at 
Newbattle  manse,  its  membership  including  many  distinguished 
clergymen  and  others,  who  enjoyed  the  Rev.  Dr  Gordon's  re- 
fined hospitality.  Principal  Tulloch,  Drs  Caird,  Crombie  (St. 
Andrews),  Smith  (South  Leith),  Arnott,  and  others  met  regu- 
larly at  Newbattle  for  flower-study,  and  their  transactions  were 
valuable.  The  "  Musselburgh  leek  "  was  undoubtedly  intro- 
duced into  Mid-Lothian  from  abroad  by  the  Newbattle  monks. 

The  magnificenf  woods  of  the  Newbattle  valley  are  famous 
all  over  the  world.  The  hoary  churchyard  trees  which  gather 
at  the  corner  of  the  road  near  the  church,  beside  the  old  church, 
with  its  memories  of  Leighton  and  Argyll,  are  beautiful  beyond 


GEOLOGY  AND  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  NEWBATTLE. 


all  words,  and  have  often  been  painted  by  eminent  artists. 
The  resting-place  of  Argyll  is  beautiful  in  spring  beyond  all 
description.  The  Abbey  park  is  full  of  splendid  oaks,  beeches, 
and  plane  trees,  many  of  them  planted  by  the  monks,  and  many 
others  by  the  Countess  Anne  and  her  successors.  But  from  an 
arboricultural  point  of  view,  the  great  glory  of  Newbattle  is  the 
"  Great  Beech  Tree,"  which  sends  its  branches  thrice  down 
to  the  earth  only  to  grow  up  again.  There  used  to  be  two  of 
them,  but  half-a-century  ago  one  was  blown  down,  leaving  its 
dependent  children  to  flourish  on  their  own  account,  as  they 
are  doing.  When  this  great  tree  was  blown  down,  great  quan- 
tities of  bones,  coins,  &c.,  were  found  around  its  roots. 

The  famous  Sir  Alexander  Christison,  and  his  son,  Dr 
Christison,  for  some  sixty  years  in  succession  have  measured 
the  great  beech  tree  of  Newbattle,  and  their  marks  are  renewed 
every  year  on  the  trunk  some  six  feet  from  the  base.  The 
measurements  are  as  follows  : — 


Girth  at  the  Ground        

about     i  ft.  above  Ground 
2^  ft. 


ft. 


43  ft. 
37  ft. 
27  ft. 
25  ft. 
23  ft. 


in. 


8  in. 

9  in. 
i  in. 

21  ft.  ii  in. 
20  ft.  3  in. 
19  ft.  7  in. 


The  ground  measurement  was  taken  by  allowing  the  tape  to  lie  on 
the  roots  as  near  to  the  uprising  of  the  buttresses  as  possible,  and  is 
necessarily  vague. 

The  measurement  at  6  ft.  to  6^  ft.  above  the  ground  is  the  most 
correct,  being  taken  on  a  line  marked  at  intervals  with  white  paint 
for  future  comparison. 

The  circumference  of  the  foliage  is  fully  400  feet;  its  diameter 
averages  130  to  140  ft. ;  and  its  total  height  reaches  112  feet. 

The  branches  hanging  down  to  the  ground  have  taken  root,  and 
are  growing  upwards,  and  this  in  some  cases  is  thrice  repeated. 

I  append  the  girths  of  a  few  of  the  main  branches,  as  well  as  of 
those  growing  up  from  said  branches,  but  with  their  own  roots  attached 
to  the  ground. 

No.  i  Branch,  girth  i  ft.  10  in.,  with  2  branches  springing  up  from 

it,  4  ft.  5  in.  each  in  girth. 
No.  2  Branch,  girth  i  ft.  8  in.,  with  3  branches  springing  up  from 

it,  one  5  ft.  5  in.,  one  5  ft.  i  in.,  one  i  ft.  ii  in.  in  girth. 
No.  3  Branch,  girth  12^  in.,  with  3  branches  springing  up  from 

it,  one  4  ft.  7^  in.,  one  24^  in.,  one  4  ft.  4  in.  in  girth. 
No.  4  Branch,  girth  12  in.,  with  2  branches  springing  up  from  it, 

one  2  ft.  8^  in.,  one  12  in.  in  girth. 

No.  5  Branch,  girth  i  ft.  7  in.,  with  3  branches  springing  up 
from  it,  one  2  ft.  4^  in.,  one  12  in.,  one  i  ft.  6  in.  in 
girth. 

No.  6  Branch,  girth  2  ft.  4  in.,  with  5  branches  springing  up  from 
it,  one  4  ft.  4  in.,  one  3  ft.  8  in.,  one  4  ft.,  one  3  ft.  4  in., 
one  i  ft.  ii  in.  in  girth. 

Dr  Christison  says  it  is  "  a  marvel  of  vigorous  physical  life." 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

Another  interesting  growth  in  the  Newbattle  grounds  is  the 
"  Evergreen  Oak."  Six  fine  specimens  of  Spanish  or  Ever- 
green Oaks  (quercus  ilex)  were  raised  from  acorns  brought  home 
from  Spain  by  a  member  of  the  Lothian  family,  who  took  part 
in  the  brilliant  victory  of  Wellington  at  Salamanca  in  1812. 
He  rested  with  his  comrades,  the  night  after  the  battle,  under 
one  of  the  evergreen  oaks  of  the  place,  and  found  the  ground 
covered  with  the  acorns  that  had  fallen  from  it.  He  put  a  few 
of  them  in  one  of  his  saddle-bags  and  had  them  sent  home  to 
Newbattle,  where  they  have  grown  readily.  One  of  the  New- 
battle  ilices  is  six  feet  ten  inches  in  girth  six  feet  from  the 
ground  before  it  breaks  into  branches,  after  the  habit  of  its 
kind. 

In  the  rich  arboretum  behind  the  church  there  is  a  mag- 
nificent collection  of  all  kinds  of  rare  shrubs,  trees,  and  bushes 
brought  from  every  part  of  the  world.  So  sheltered  and  mild 
is  this  grove  that  often  in  winter  tens  of  thousands  of  starlings 
hibernate  there,  driving  away  the  smaller  birds  for  the  season. 
One  can  well  understand  how  in  olden  days,  when  travelling 
facilities  were  few,  the  richly  wooded  Newbattle  valley  was  the 
great  resort  for  consumptives  from  "  east- windy,  west-endy 
Edinburgh." 


(32°) 


XXIV. 

JAMES  GUTHRIE'S  LAST  SLEEP  AT 
NEWBATTLE. 

TN  the  year  1660,  after  a  terrible  time  of  national  con- 
fusion, George  Johnston,  A.M.,  was  called  by  the  people 
of  Newbattle  to  be  their  minister.  His  immediate  pre- 
decessors in  that  office  had  been  Alexander  Dickson, 
whose  father,  Dr  David  Dickson,  a  strong  and  unbending 
Covenanter,  wrote  the  hymn,  "  O,  Mother,  dear  Jerusalem, 
when  shall  I  come  to  Thee  ' ' ;  and  previous  to  him,  Robert 
Leighton,  who  was  now  Principal  of  Edinburgh  University  and 
the  coming  Bishop  of  Dunblane.  Johnston  came  from  Loch- 
rutton,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Covenanting  country,  and  was 
probably  brought  to  Newbattle  by  the  Earl  of  Lothian,  a 
staunch  ally  of  that  cause,  who  might  wish  to  strengthen  his 
cause  by  bringing  to  the  Esk  Valley  one  of  the  true-blue 
followers  of  "  Christ's  Crown  and  Covenant  "  from  the  moun- 
tainous country  where  the  mists  often,  as  if  by  a  miracle, 
descended  and  covered  the  Conventicle  just  as  the  watchman 
had  descried  afar  off  the  red-coated  soldiery,  and  had  raised 
the  alarm.  Whatever  views  one  may  hold  regarding  these 
scenes  and  men,  they  are  eminently  picturesque  and  striking, 
and  the  wonderful  spell  of  that  great  national  movement  still 
rests  over  the  green  rolling  hills  of  Dumfriesshire  and  the 
hundred  old  kirkyards  where  the  grey  old  stones,  with  their 
matchless  lichens  and  dim  old-world  colours,  still  record  the 
names  and  the  doings  of  the  men,  regarding  whom  Robert 
Burns  declared  that  they  "sealed  freedom's  noble  cause;  if 
thou'rt  a  slave  indulge  thy  sneers." 

George  Johnston  was  a  stalwart  indeed,  and  to  the  Earl 
of  Lothian  a  man  entirely  after  his  own  heart.  That  third 
Earl  of  Lothian,  William  Ker,  joined  the  Covenanters  in 
1638,  and  after  the  pacification  of  Berwick  in  that  year  he 
waited  on  the  King  there.  The  Scottish  army  invaded  Eng- 

(3") 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEW  BOTTLE. 

land  in  1640,  and  the  Earl  of  Lothian  commanded  a  regiment. 
At  Newburn  the  Royalists  were  defeated,  and  Newcastle  was 
taken  possession  of,  the  Earl  being  appointed  governor. 

In  1642  a  rebellion  broke  out  in  Ireland,  and  he  had 
command  of  a  regiment  dispatched  thither  to  quell  the  rising. 
In  the  following  year  he  was  sent  to  France  by  Charles  I.  and 
the  Privy  Council  to  arrange  with  the  French  Court  as  to 
Scottish  rights  and  privileges.  Returning  from  France,  he  met 
the  King  at  Oxford,  and  being  suspected  of  treachery,  was 
confined  as  a  prisoner  in  Bristol  for  several  months.  Having 
at  last  been  released,  we  find  him  in  1644  along  with  the 
Marquess  of  Argyll  commanding  the  forces  sent  against  Mon- 
trose,  who  was  obliged  to  retreat.  When  he  delivered  up  his 
commission  to  the  Committee  of  Estates,  he  was  warmly 
thanked  for  his  services.  In  December,  1646,  he  was  president 
of  the  Committee  dispatched  by  Parliament  to  the  King  with 
their  final  propositions,  which  were  refused.  In  1648  he 
entered  his  protest  against  the  "  Engagement,"  and  when  it 
was  declared  unlawful  by  Parliament  in  January,  1649,  he 
was  made  Secretary  of  State  in  place  of  the  Earl  of  Lanark, 
who  was  deprived.  He  was  appointed  one  of  the  commis 
sioners  to  go  to  England  and  remonstrate  against  any  violence 
or  indignity  being  used  against  the  King,  in  name  of  the 
Scottish  nation.  Being  again  suspected,  he  was  arrested  and 
sent  to  Gravesend,  in  order  to  be  sent  home  to  Scotland.  The 
Scottish  Estates  thanked  him  on  his  return  for  his  services. 
In  1649,  along  with  the  Earl  of  Cassilis,  he  was  sent  to  Breda 
to  invite  Charles  II.  to  Scotland.  His  life  all  through  was 
that  of  a  great  Scottish  patriot,  who,  though  a  stern  Coven- 
anter, was  loyal  to  King  and  country. 

George  Johnston  was  minister  in  1660  to  this  Covenanting 
leader,  who  had  previously  declared  of  Leighton  that  he  got 
"  more  good  from  him  than  from  any  that  did  ever  stand  in  a 
pulpit."  Johnston  was,  however,  a  very  different  man  from 
Leighton,  and  through  thick  and  thin  defended  the  Covenant 
and  the  Covenanters  against  all  comers,  and  in  1662,  on  the 
nth  of  June,  he  was  deprived  of  his  ministry  at  Newbattle  by 
Parliament.  He  was  succeeded  by  two  Episcopal  curates, 
Chisholm  and  Malcolm,  and  recalled  to  Newbattle  in  1679. 
Again  he  was  seized  for  preaching  at  Conventicles  and  confined 
in  Borthwick  Castle.  During  the  Covenanting  struggle  he 

(322) 


JAMES  GUTHRIE'S  LAST  SLEEP  AT  NEWBATTLE. 

was  arrested  and  imprisoned  several  times.  After  his  second 
deposition  from  his  ministry  at  Newbattle,  he  was  succeeded 
in  the  charge  by  Archibald  Douglas  and  Andrew  Auchinleck, 
when  a  change  came  in  his  tide  of  fortune,  and  in  1687  for 
the  third  time  he  was  called  to  Newbattle,  on  liberty  being 
given  to  Presbyterianism,  where  he  remained  until  he  was 
translated  to  Greyfriars,  Edinburgh,  in  which  charge  he  died. 

These  two  Covenanters,  the  Earl  of  Lothian  and  George 
Johnston,  stood  firm  in  the  critical  year  of  the  Restoration, 
and  the  Newbattle  Valley  became  a  sort  of  home  for  sym- 
pathising spirits.  Leighton  had  left  Newbattle  in  1653,  and 
Alexander  Jaffray,  the  Quaker,  who  lived  in  the  old  house, 
now  demolished,  beside  the  present  church,  had  gone  to 
reside  at  Abbeyhill,  near  Holyrood.  Jaffray  and  Leighton 
were  kindred  spirits,  and  in  a  period  of  bitter  religious  strife 
sighed  for  peace.  But  Johnston,  who  was  now  in  possession 
of  the  charge,  was  a  fighting  Covenanter,  and,  as  such,  drew 
towards  him  the  more  strenuous  and  energetic  spirits  of  the 
Covenant.  He  felt,  too,  that  he  had  behind  him  a  strong 
kindred  spirit  in  the  Earl  of  Lothian,  whose  portrait  hangs 
to-day  in  Newbattle  House, — the  tall,  dignified,  armour-clad 
figure  of  a  purpose- like,  firm,  determined  man,  who  was  not 
afraid  to  call  his  soul  his  own,  who  feared  God  and  knew  no 
other  fear.  James  Guthrie,  the  son  of  the  laird  of  Guthrie, 
was  in  1661  a  man  of  forty-four,  and  while  he  had  been 
brought  up  as  an  Episcopalian,  his  converse  at  St  Andrews 
with  Samuel  Rutherford  changed  his  views,  and  he  became 
minister  of  Lauder  and  afterwards  of  Stirling.  He  had 
drawn  forth  the  wrath  of  the  Earl  of  Middleton,  chiefly 
through  his  warm  adherence  to  the  Covenant,  but  also  through 
denouncing  that  nobleman  for  his  connection  with  an  unsuc- 
cessful rising  in  the  north  in  favour  of  the  King,  in  1650. 
Guthrie  proposed  to  the  Commission  of  the  General  Assembly 
that  Middleton  should  be  excommunicated,  and,  this  being 
agreed  to,  Guthrie  was  appointed  to  pronounce  the  sentence 
at  Stirling  on  the  following  Sunday.  On  the  morning  of  that 
day  he  received  a  letter  asking  him  to  delay  the  sentence,  but 
the  sentence  was  given.  On  January  2nd,  1651,  the  Commis- 
sion of  the  General  Assembly  released  Middleton  from  it; 
nevertheless,  Guthrie  was  the  inveterate  object  of  his  hatred, 
and  it  was,  indeed,  chiefly  owing  to  Middleton  that  he  was 

(323) 


THE  ABBEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  NEWBOTTLE. 

finally  put  to  death  on  June  ist,  1661.  Guthrie  openly  and 
vehemently  preached  against  the  resolu